Love at first sight?
by Decious
Summary: A/U. Gohan goes to high school having lost his sight against Cell. How does this effect his chances with Videl, and how can he maintain an image that isn't who he truly is. GhV.
1. Chapter 1

_A.N. 1) I read recently a couple of stories where Gohan goes to high school after losing his sight. Sadly, both were unfinished, and from the looks of them, are unlikely to be finished. The stories in question are 'Blinded', by Pippy32388 (which was last updated in September 2008), and 'A different kind of seeing' by Megami-Sama2 (last updated in March 2004). Whilst I accept this means that my idea isn't original, I was definitely inspired by the stories, and was found that I was bombarded with ideas on what I could do with the situation. If either of the two authors mentioned have any complaints, I am very willing to communicate with them. Who knows, maybe I will get them to finish their stories, just to prove they are better than me. Also, if I have missed any other stories which run with this idea then can you please let me know, because you can never have too many ideas. I will not plagiarise ideas, and at the bottom of chapters I will mention where ideas have came from if I __consciously__ use them._

_2) I am going to use the English school system, because I have absolutely no idea what the systems are in other countries._

_3) I use italics for thoughts. When telepathy is used, it will be in the style *telepathic message*. In some cases, it could be mindreading, in which case it will be BOTH italic and inside the *._

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Dragonball is a successful series, and the creator of it and Dragonball Z deserves great credit. Sadly, that isn't me.

Seven years was a long time. Almost seven years ago there had been a fight, one in which the terrible had happened. The fighter who would always throw himself into the fight to save the planet had died. He had refused to come back. Oh, and his son had lost his sight, but Gohan refused to view that as important. He guessed that it must have happened at the end. Maybe he channelled too much energy into the attack, or maybe he let Cell dominate too much, and it got close enough to do some damage.

It had taken him a year to come to terms with his father's death. He still blamed himself at times, but he understood that Goku felt it would be for the best. To overcome his sight issues ... that had taken a couple of weeks. None of the Z fighters quite understood how he had done it. For a week he was stuck in his room alone, needing his mothers help to do anything. Then he slowly started to navigate the house, and the land surrounding it. The only two who managed to understand his explanation were his mother, and Bulma.

_It is like a bat, echolocation. Instead of using sound, I use my ki. By projecting it out and feeling it return I can 'see' items, both their shapes and how far something is._

In a fight, the young warrior had already learnt to rely on sound and instinct. The loss of his sight had hampered him at first, but not as much as many would have thought. To further his skills, he trained daily, something his mother reluctantly agreed to as his chances of being a scholar had faded. That was, until the day Bulma brought some new inventions round.

***Present day***

The blue-haired scientist stood at the doorway of the small house, looking at her friend. She knew Chi Chi was going to love this, and that Gohan had never mentioned the project he had been helping her with. The matriarch of the house produced a book and placed it on the table as the demi-saiyan carefully attached the earpiece to the small black box. As it glided across the words, he said them aloud, drawing appreciative looks from both the women watching.

"Well, I know the reader works," said Bulma, a wide grin decorating her face.

Slowly Gohan started to write on the paper, nodding as his muscles remembered how to make each letter. His handwriting was beautiful, each letter a work of art. When he had finished, he passed the paper across, and they could clearly read the words _I can write with this, and I can see everything I have written._

Bulma leapt up, laughing. She had wanted to do something to help the young warrior, especially after all he had done to help everyone in the past. Chi Chi was grinning, now her little boy could become the scholar she always wanted him to. She had accepted he would continue to train, but maybe now he would be able to study as well. She was ripped from her thoughts by the voice of her eldest son as he asked, "Do you think I could go to high school? I would like to spend time away from the house, and to know some people my own age."

The woman found herself unable to answer immediately. It wasn't that she was opposed to the idea, it was more to do with the fact that she had been thinking how she could get him to agree to the idea. The silence dragged for a couple of seconds before she found her voice, "Of course you can. I have been thinking about it and I think that Orange Star High is the one you should attend. If you want, we can go and do the entrance exams soon, and get you enrolled for the start of a new term."

The tall boy nodded, his eyes still focused on the table. As his mother grabbed up the phone and started to make the call, he sat there thinking. _I need to get to know people, to live a normal life. School will be the best way to meet other people. Besides, Piccolo told me that telepathy isn't a skill based on your power, but rather on your intelligence. Maybe I could develop that while I am there._

That day and the weekend following it went quickly, and on the Monday morning Gohan had school. It was going to be his first day and he knew it would be difficult. That just made him more excited, since when did he back down from a challenge. _I might even make friends. I can't think of many people I know who are normal. The last person who I really talked to was Lime, and since her parents came back she hasn't really wanted to talk to me._

A smile decorating his face, he went about his morning routine. A shower to wake him up, then dress. He hoped the clothes went together ok, he had yet to find a way to distinguish colours. Before heading downstairs he realised something. Reaching into his wardrobe, he removed an odd belt and put it on. As he walked down to the kitchen for breakfast, he pulled out the two capsules that were lying in his bag.

"Mum, can you tell me what these capsules are please?" His spoke clearly, temporarily pausing him mad intake of food.

His mother looked at him, worry in her eyes (not that he could see that). "Let's see, this capsule is your gym kit, this one is the emergency storage capsule, and this ..." she quickly picked up a third capsule from the side of the cooker, "one is your lunch."

Smiling, Gohan slipped each one into special slots in his belt. Each was engraved with a number, so now all he had to do was remember which capsule each number represented. In the time it had taken for her to explain about the capsules, he had finished his meal. He rose calmly, and waited as his mother checked him over. "Thank you for the food, it was wonderful as always."

This drew a smile from the older woman, but she waved her hand at him. Her voice had a hint of laughter in it as she spoke, "Get to school, you don't want to be late on your first day."

Luckily for him, the flight there was a quiet one, and he reached the school without incident. He landed in an alley nearby and walked to the school. He wasn't sure what the time was, but from the sun he felt he was early. Walking slowly he approached the main doors of the building and then paused. Swallowing to overcome the nerves that threatened to take away his resolve, he opened the door and looked in. His mind raced. _Ahead the corridor splits, left or right. There is a sign on the wall, but it isn't embossed so that is no help. Maybe there is someone around who could point me in the right direction._

Even as he thought this, he could sense someone approaching from behind him. They were shorter than him, and he guessed they were female from the pigtails. Gohan decided to ask them. "Excuse me, could you help me find the reception."

The girl glared at him, before sighing. _I guess he just wanted to talk to me, so made up some lame excuse. This could be fun. _"Of course, it is just down the corridor to the right."

As expected, he thanked her kindly, before walking off and turning right. _Wait a second, he turned right? The sign clearly shows that it is left. Well, serves him right for not being able to read._ Smiling at her joke, she wandered off in search of her friends.

Gohan was struggling, every door was numbered. _A numbered door is a classroom, so I haven't found the reception yet._ He continued to walk, growing more and more uncomfortable. When the bell rang to signal the start of lessons, he felt really out of place. Tears threatened to appear, he was well and truly lost in the school. Just as he was about to give up, a man spoke up. "Reception is at the other end of the hall. This is the labs, no entry unless there is a teacher present."

Nodding his thanks, Gohan started headed back the way he came, at a much quicker pace. He promised himself he would get to his lessons, this experience hadn't been fun and had taught him that he couldn't trust his peers without question.

In her classroom, Videl sat listening to her friends. She didn't care too much about what had happened, she was pretty sure it had just been a guy trying to get on her good side. When the bell rang, the teacher for the form walked in and looked at her class. She was taking the register when there was a soft knock at the door.

_A.N. Well, one chapter down. I admit to using the idea about the pen and reader from the stories mentioned above, the ideas seemed the most likely thing that Bulma would make for Gohan, and without being able to read and write, Gohan wouldn't survive school. The ki 'echolocation' is also used in both fics, but that wasn't used intentionally. When I was writing the chapter, I honestly thought that they had done it differently, but re-reading them to check I hadn't used ideas showed me I was wrong. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for all the kind reviews. It always makes me feel glad to see people enjoy my story. I am working to a rule, each chapter will be up 1 week after the last. If there are a lot of reviews, I will post sooner (but I won't rush each chapter.)  
To answer a couple of questions asked in reviews:  
I'm Yu - It is a trick that I have seen pulled, and one that a lot of people I know would do. The assumption that the person is flirting seems to be the consensus, not a single person actually wondered if the person has sight issues. That said, I'm sure we can all imagine how she will feel when she learns about it.  
Bworms1980 - Whilst Gohan is an unassuming guy, he does show glimpses of pride. On this point, I feel that he would keep the disability a secret (although your question did make me consider re-writing this chapter and changing my entire plan, just to look at the hilarity of doing the opposite.)  
To all who asked, I have every intention of finishing the story. I don't like to leave things half done. I also have to thank everyone for all their kind words. I hope I can live up to the praise you have all heaped upon me.  
This chapter was editted due to the feedback from Mystic4 Gohan and Razamatazz22._

_...  
_

The teacher looked across at the door and motioned for whoever it was outside to come in. The newcomer was tall, with jet black hair that stood straight up. He walked slowly to the teacher and handed over two notes. The teacher glanced at them both, frowning as she read the second, before turning to the class and announcing, "We have a new student today. Everyone, this is Gohan Son."

Videl wasn't really looking, half-asleep from listening to her friends' gossip. The soft gasp of the class caused her to look up and she saw the guy she had teased earlier. The memory made her blush ever so slightly. She watched as the teacher announced he had scored almost perfect scores on his entrance exams.

"Hey gorgeous, there is a spare seat here." Erasa, Videls' best friend shouted out. This drew giggles from a large number of the girls present, but had the desired effect as he walked carefully up towards the desk. Videl couldn't help but watch how he walked, his balance remaining perfectly centered. Oddly, he also didn't seem to bother to look where he was going, but still navigated the stairs easily._ Interesting, I wonder what he is hiding._

As Gohan sat down, the bubbly girl next to him spoke, "Hey, my name is Erasa, this is Sharpner, and this is Videl." She pointed at the two seated next to her. Gohan took a minute to recognise their ki, so that he wouldn't embarrass himself when he met them subsequently. _Odd, I have met this girl before. What was her name? Videl? When did I meet her._

The others noticed that Gohan paused, his head tilted slightly but his gaze locked on the desk in front of him. They took the time to study him. His clothes were plain, a white shirt and black trousers. He was also wearing the school jacket, which looked brand new. All four were pulled from their thoughts as the lesson started.

Through the lesson, Videl noticed that Gohan ran a small box across the text book. She stared at it. _Hmm, I wonder what that is. It bears the Capsule Corp logo, so it must be one of their inventions._ An idea grew in her mind. She wanted to turn and ask him about it, but Erasa was monopolising the conversation. The new boys' attitude was also a consideration, he didn't seem happy to talk to them at all.

...

When lunch time arrived, she sat with her two close friends. They had thought to invite Gohan to sit with them, well Erasa had. Videl and Sharpner were against this idea, and they had won. It did help that Gohan seemed to have vanished anyway. The three friends started to discuss the new boy, wondering what they could learn. He had told Erasa he lived in the 439 district, somewhere which was a five hour commute to school. This made Videl even more annoyed at him, she hated liars.

Seated on the roof, Gohan ate his feast rapidly. However, he could hear what his new friends were talking about, and that they were calling him odd. His heart started to grow heavy, was he really that much of a burden on them?

Meanwhile, in Capsule Corp, there was a meeting taking place. It was odd, Piccolo and Vegeta standing face to face without threats or actual violence. They had met due to mutual concern, a feeling that was unusual for both of the warriors.

Piccolo spoke, his voice remaining calm and emotionless, "I'm not sure that school is a good idea for Gohan."

"Of course it isn't. He is approaching maturity, he will start to hunt for a mate." Vegeta sounded worried, an emotion that wasn't often associated with the Saiyan prince.

"What is worse is the information from the Kai's. I have heard that there were five half blooded Saiyans before, and all of them caused serious havoc at the age of eighteen."

"I only recall three, but you are right. The boy will be on edge all the time. If anything pushes him he will snap, and then he will start to kill."

The tall Namekian now was looking very worried. His voice started to show the growing concern as he spoke, "We need to get some of the Z fighters in the school, we need to keep an eye on him."

The short Saiyan nodded, his eyes locked on the door. "Let three-eyes teach. Both of us can get there quickly enough if there is trouble."

Piccolo studied the person opposite him. "I think Gohan has grown on both of us. You're right though, Tien can teach the class. I'll stay nearby, but out of sight. Raising my ki is the warning sign."

Vegeta span quickly, glaring at Piccolo. "You don't need to tell me what to do. Between us we can stop the brat."

Piccolo motioned towards the door, indicating that Vegeta should talk to his mate. As he walked away, he muttered, "I hope." The words were very soft, but the princes' sharp hearing let him catch the words.

...

The last lesson of the day was biology, and rather than give the class a lot of questions to answer, the teacher told them to group up and write a report together. This was to be on the senses, and to record which they felt were the most useful, and which they could live without. Gohan started to write, ignoring the talk of his three 'friends' who were sharing the table. Videl, Erasa and Sharpner quickly agreed that sight was the most useful, and began to write the few paragraphs they needed to please the teacher. With the lines done, the three sat there chatting happily. After a couple of minutes talking, they realised that Gohan was still writing. Videl motioned for the other two to continue writing as she leant over to read what he had written.

_Of all the senses, I believe that sight is the least important. What we see is never truly important, and to survive our other senses play just as much part. A skilled warrior can fight when blind, using the sounds of his opponent to defend himself appropriately. Without sight you would never see the beauty that surrounds you, never witness the glory of the rising sun and never understand the works of art. However, people without sight can cope, the use of Braille allows them to read and if they work hard they can develop their other senses to further aid them. A blind man who has worked hard can cross a road easily, because the sounds of danger are often the first warnings you get._

_Above this, I feel lie the intertwined senses of taste and smell. The loss of one pales the other. Half of taste is smell, and half of smell is taste. To lose one weakens the other sense, and also has a negative effect on survival. If you cannot smell, how would you know if there was gas, or too much smoke? Without taste, you wouldn't be able to realise the slightly bitter taste of a poison before you ingested it. Unlike with sight, there are very little ways to adapt to this loss._

_Then would come hearing. The soft noise of the wind passing through the trees or the sound of a friends voice. I suppose that you could easily learn to do without, but deafness is not something I would enjoy. It is the sense that I see as a major one to replace sight, but is one that you can adapt to live without. Sign language is a recognised form of communication, and one that doesn't need sound. However, in some situations the lack of sound would be catastrophic. If someone is in danger you shout to them, but without them being able to hear, it would be pointless. How do you warn someone who is deaf when they aren't looking at you?_

_In my mind, the most important sense is the sensation of touch. I would happily sacrifice all my other senses to keep this one. The warm comfort from a mother, the gentle caress of a lover, and the tender grasp of a sibling. All of these rely on touch. Without touch you wouldn't be able to cope. Touch allows you to pick something up, if you picked up a glass without the sensation of touch, you may either squeeze too softly or too hard. Too soft and the glass falls, too hard and it shatters in your hand. Without this sense, I am unable to see how you could live a normal life._

Videl narrowed her eyes, the writing made a lot of sense except for where he talked about a fighter managing without sight. That was surely impossible. As Gohan lowered his pen and started to read over what he had written, he knocked the little box off the table. He didn't seem to notice, but Videl did. _I know, I'll pick it up and give it to him after the lesson. It will give me a chance to interrogate him as well._

_A.N. I hope I didn't offend anyone with my version of Gohan's essay. They are my views to an extent (in terms of that is my ranking.) I do however know that a loss of any of the first four can be dealt with fairly well. If there are people who can answer any of the questions I have posed in that essay, I would look forward to reading them.  
_


	3. Chapter 3

_AN. Well thanks again to all who reviewed. Most of the questions were resolved, especially when I changed the route in the last chapter. Oddly, it made pretty much no difference to this one (barring the guilt Videl was going to feel.)_

When the teacher dismissed the class, the three friends stood chatting. It took a couple of seconds for Videl to remember that she needed to confront Gohan about his box, and in that time he had vanished. Glaring crossly at the other students, she started to hunt through the throng of students. _You'd think that a guy as tall as him with his hair would be easy to spot. _As the corridors emptied, she realised that she wasn't going to find him here. _I could wait until tomorrow, but what if he needs it urgently? Maybe someone at Capsule Corporation would be able to help; they try to keep up-to-date records of who owns each item._

An idea firmly in her mind, she set off in her trusty jet copter to the headquarters of the most successful company in existence. Her father had annoyed them somehow, and this had meant that they were loath to sell him anything, especially not those that weren't on sale yet. Surely they wouldn't hold it against her, she was only trying to return an item to its' true owner. She was smiling broadly as she flew the hour it took to get to Capsule Corp.

...

She landed perfectly and walked confidently up to the main shop. _I know how it works here, each day some of the scientists have to work in the shop. I wish I knew why, but it seems to work._ The two at the tills were busy, but there was a third who looked as though she was bored. She was wearing the white coat of a scientist, but Videl always expected the lab coat to have some discolouration on it. _You can't be working hard enough if you can keep that perfectly white._

Videl approached the young woman and waited, impatiently. After a good five seconds, she cleared her thoat. Seeing that the lady had finally noticed she was there, Videl pulled the black cube out of her bag and spoke calmly, "I found this box on the floor, I was wondering if you could help me return it to the person who owns it."

The woman picked up the box and glanced at it. A look of confusion quickly decorated her face. Leading Videl, she walked over to a machine in the corner and swiped her identity card. The machine quickly unlocked. However, when she scanned the code on the box, the machine just flashed up two words.

_Owner Unknown_

Videl wanted to scream, but the scientist smiled. She murmured, "Thought so, still in testing."

Seeing that Videl looked shocked at this, she moved over to a desk and got out a leaflet. Moving her hands expertly over the device, she extracted a microscopic wire and an earpiece. It soon became evident that Videl was meant to use them.

When the headset was attached, the woman motioned for Videl to run the box over the words. Mimicking Gohan she started to sweep the box swiftly over the words, only to hear a jumble of nonsense. She tried again, much slower. This time she could hear accurately, the machine was reading out each individual letter and number. Videl started to gaze in surprise, and it grew as the woman spoke, "I worked on this project, it is designed to help those who struggle to see to manage to read. Right now it is in the testing phase."

Videl glared, "And just who is doing the testing?"

Whispering "My day just got better," the scientist led her 'customer' into the labyrinth that was the insides of Capsule Corp.

...

Videl had been walking for ages, and she was sure that it wasn't the most productive route. They kept going into a lab, and then leaving the same way they came in. She had noticed that the scientist glanced at all the people working in each one, but she never even bothered to talk to anyone. _Why don't we ask one of the others where the person we are looking for is?_

"Hey Christie, weren't you meant to be on shop duty today?"

Videl span round, searching for the speaker. It was a woman, with bright blue hair and hoop earrings. The earrings looked out of place on someone wearing a lab coat. _Blue hair ... is that Bulma Briefs? I don't believe it, why would she be in front of me._ Videl wasn't paying attention to the events around her, it took her a couple of seconds to realise that the Christie had left, and Bulma was looking at her expectantly.

Bulma recognised the flash of panic on the girls face. _She was thinking, and doesn't understand what is happening._ Smiling slightly, she asked, "I was told you had one of our unusual inventions. May I see it?"

Videl nodded, unsure why she couldn't speak. She slowly offered the box to Bulma, who just glanced at it. "Do you want me to return it to him, or will you give it to him at school tomorrow?"

This caused Videl to freeze. Her thoughts had been confirmed, Gohan was meant to be using it. _But how does she know I go to the same school as him?_ Videl looked at the woman, who was still smiling at her, and decided to ask. "How do you know who it belongs to, and how do you know they are at my school?"

The smile on Bulma's face grew, and her eyes sparkled. "I'm not going to answer that one. I can confirm that he can cope without it for the evening if you want to return it to him personally."

Videl nodded, and left the building. _How is it that to get to her takes half an hour, but to get out takes barely two minutes? Still, I wonder if Gohan has need of this or if he just is helping out. Hang on, he read over his essay without it, so I guess it is the latter._

If she had looked back she would have seen Bulma pull out a cell phone and make a call.

...

Gohan awoke suddenly. The training last night had helped him develop even more, but had exhausted him. _I'm glad mum lets me keep training, it might be because she knows I need to use my ki to see._

A glance at the clock showed he had at least an hour before he needed to wake up, but he was reluctant to return to bed. The nightmare he had seemed to be taunting him, waiting for him to return to sleep.

_A ruined house, flames licking over the parts that remained. Suddenly two figures came rushing out, his mother and his younger brother. He was hovering a short way away, watching, but try as he might he couldn't move. Suddenly a ball of white energy slammed into Chi Chi and she fell, lifeless. Gohan felt horrified, what sort of monster could kill her, she hadn't hurt anyone. His question was soon answered, but not as he hoped._

"_Big brother, why did you do this?" Goten sounded angry, his pain causing him to transform the way he had learnt a year ago. The only response the young demi-saiyan got was a ball of energy, but he managed to deflect it. That was only the distraction, allowing the older of the two to charge._

_Helplessly, Gohan watched as he beat his younger brother into the ground. Goten didn't stand a chance. As the young boy fell to the ground, Gohan snapped his head around and shouted "Masenko." A much larger and golden ki ball flew into the air. It exploded suddenly, and a large green figure fell from the sky. Without even checking he was right, Gohan had killed his teacher._

It must have been the death of Piccolo that did it, for Gohan couldn't remember anything further. Gohan forced himself to move, dressing as if it was any other day. _That is never going to happen. I will not hurt those I care about._ As he thought about the dream, he realised something. At no point did he see any distinguishing features of Goten. _So I can dream about killing them, but my dreams don't show me the world around me. It was as if I saw an old photograph of Dad. Come to think of it, mum should have changed more as well._

Far above the house, a tall green man shifted from his meditation. He had cleared his mind, but only so that he could watch the dreams of his young charge.

...

Gohan let his mind wander as he was flying to school the next day. He was interested in what he had seen, what he would need to do to maintain his control. He lost his train of thought when a volley of gunfire distracted him. Sighing, he lowered himself and scanned the area. _So there are seven people shooting at each other. Those four are hiding behind a car, and the other three are behind a different car. Now, how can I tell which is the police, and which are the crooks._

Gohan half wanted to drop in the middle and stop the shooting that way. However, it wouldn't aid him in working out who was who. A familiar Ki started to dash towards the three. _Videl, what is she up to_? Gohan kept his distance as she made quick work of the first, a jump kick knocking him out before he knew she was there. Twisting with the momentum, she planted her right fist hard into the neck of the second guy. She continued her spin to come face to face with the barrel of a heavy pistol.

No amount of training had prepared her for this, and she pulled her hands up to cover her face. The crook laughed, "It doesn't matter if you see it or not, you are dead." As he finished his sentence he pulled the trigger.

_Is this what dying feels like? It feels so ... normal. _She hadn't felt any pain, she hadn't felt anything. _Well, Dad always said that playing hero was going to get me killed. I wonder what this place looks like._ She opened her eyes slowly, just in time to see a golden blur drive his fist into the remaining criminal. That wasn't the main thing she concentrated on however, somehow there was a bullet hovering in midair a couple of millimetres from her face.

Gohan was furious. The girl had done what he should have been doing, and because he had stayed out of it to see what she was capable off, she had almost died. He was very glad that he was so quick at throwing up ki barriers. _I need a way to work out which side I should help. _He shot up into the sky and dashed off, flicking a finger down as an afterthought.

Videl reached towards the bullet, she wondered how it would feel to touch this thing that could be floating in front of her. Just as her fingers were about to touch it, it fell straight down.

...

_AN. Well, that is it for chapter 3. I tried to make it a bit longer as I will be unable to post a chapter next week. Hopefully chapter 4 should be up the week after. If you found the dream disturbing, I warn you that it will be re-occurring. Anyone who needs a warning of which chapters it is in, feel free to ask._


	4. Chapter 4

_I am sorry that this is up so much later than I wanted it to be. I was away for a week and a half without a computer, so I couldn't write it then. I did write it on paper but I learnt afterwards that I am very bad at typing up what I have already written. I seem to lack the enthusiasm to write what I have already written._

_Thank you for all the lovely reviews. I am always grateful that you took time out to say something. My views towards reviews are that you don't need to review, but I will always appreciate a review. Compliments are nice to receive, well founded criticism will be considered carefully (and may change parts of the story) and flames ... well I don't know what I'd do with them. If you spot something I have spelt wrong, then let me know and it will get changed. From reviews received recently, I have the following responses._

_GohanSSJ2x – Gohan may be blind, but that doesn't have any effect on his speed. Add to the fact that he has developed a way to see and I don't see why his speed should be hampered. However, your comments have raised a couple of great points that I will need to address, but only when the point truly arrises (probably at some point when Videl is present and knows he is blind.) I haven't yet decided exactly when though.  
O escritor – in regards to the Vegeta point, I had two reasons to make him show emotion. Firstly, I felt that it would help illustrate just how serious the trouble was and secondly, I felt that it would be in Vegeta's own interest to worry about this. If it happens to Gohan, like all other half-bloods before him, then the next victim would be Trunks. Vegeta does care for his son, and I don't see him wanting to be in the same position in a few years. I did however try to maintain his arrogance when it comes to stopping Gohan. I am not complaining about what you said, it was a valid point. I hope this makes sense, but if you still have any complaints or queries, feel free to let me know. I will try to stay as true to the displayed characters as possible in this story, except for with Gohan (who has had his life changed significantly) and to a lesser effect, Videl. _

_...  
_

As Videl flew towards school in her jetcopter, her mind was torn between the events earlier and the newest mystery in her class. She was trying to get her brush with death out of her mind, she didn't think that concentrating on that subject would help her understand what had happened. She believed that it would be more productive to think about Gohan, because she could actually learn more about him. _My glare is ineffective on him, it is almost like he doesn't see it. Maybe I should try a different tact, maybe he will open up to me more if I act nicer to him._ A faint smile played across her lips, she felt she could be kinder to him if it would help her learn more.

_I still don't know if he needs it, I know he can read without it, but surely Capsule Corporation would have someone testing it with some vision impairments. _

As she landed her copter skilfully on the roof of the school, she grinned. The second her hands were free she grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a note which was subsequently taped on the box.

...

Videl ran into the classroom, her mind still flitting between the mysteries that were Gohan and the Gold Fighter. Her two friends didn't notice her at first, they were caught up in an argument about hair products. She slipped into her seat and placed the box on Gohans' desk. Keeping one eye on it, she decided to join in with the discussion happening beside her.

Gohan walked into the class. He didn't seem too impressed about the day so far, he just seemed like he wanted school to start. Videl glanced at him as he approached. _Odd, he doesn't seem to have even looked at ANYONE in the class. I would have thought he would at least glance at them._ Her confusion only grew when she saw him sit down at the desk and pick up the item she had left there. The speed at which he set it up was a shock, he seemed so much more skilled at it than the scientist who had helped create the item. He then used it to read her note.  
_Gohan,  
I believe this is yours. Meet me on the roof after school, I have a couple of questions to ask.  
Videl._

Gohan nodded slightly, but luckily Videl had been watching him and so saw the response to her message. A faint smile started to cover her face as she turned back to her friends. Their talk wasn't overly interested until someone mentioned the crime she stopped earlier. Videl felt surprised that anyone had heard anything about it so quickly, but apparently one of her classmates had seen her brush with death. It did prompt a lot of confusion as people wanted to know more about the person who had saved her, but Videl was refusing to join in the conversation.

Finally Sharpner decided to turn his charm onto her, in an attempt to learn more. "Hey babe, what is this about some idiot trying to shoot you?"

Videl span around, her eyes narrowed into glare. She spoke coldly, "I don't recall. A guy pulled a gun on me and shot, the bullet stopped just in front of me."

"Wow babe, you were lucky. I guess Kami is watching over you to thank your father for his heroics." The flirtatious tone was still there in his voice as he spoke to her. It didn't really matter to Videl though.

She didn't even respond to this comment, turning sharply so that her back was facing the intense discussion taking place. It didn't stop her from listening a little curiously as the witness spoke of the figure that had defeated the crook. _So he had gold hair, was covered in a golden flame and moved incredibly quickly. He also can fly, sounds like the tricksters at the Cell games. I wonder how he stopped that bullet._

Gohan was also interested in the conversation, but was glad that the golden aura of his energy had prevented anyone from seeing his school clothes. His mind slipped from thinking about his heroics and on to how he could act without endangering anyone, or attacking the wrong people. _I wonder, I was working on telepathy yesterday. I can communicate with people using it I guess. I wonder if I could adjust it to sense emotions. That should help me at the very least._

...

For the most part the lessons were boring. Lunch came and went, with Gohan eating alone on the roof once again. Unlike yesterday, he wasn't the main topic of conversation down below. Instead, everyone was talking about Videl and the way she had been shot at. Somehow, the events of earlier had shot around the school, and now everyone was pestering her for details. Erasa was supportive of her friend, whilst Sharpner was flirting and talking about how Videl was getting divine protection.

Gohan suddenly felt a presence he recognised above him. The person quickly suppressed their energy again, but Gohan was certain that they were there. Concentrating on his ki sense, he reached out and up. Whoever it was above him, they were keeping far enough away that he couldn't get their body shape. It didn't matter, that second where they released their energy was enough. His mentor, Piccolo, was above him and Gohan was willing to bet he had been there all day and probably the day before. Gohan was certain that he was being watched; somehow Piccolo had found out about his nightmare and obviously thought it was going to happen. It was a shame that he hadn't came and talked to Gohan about it.

Finally the last lesson of the day approached, and Gohan felt a slight sense of dread. If Piccolo was watching him, and he had told the others then the teacher for gym would be horrible. Gohan tried to imagine having Yamcha or Krillen as a teacher, he knew that they would give him hell all the time. His head bowed he walked into the changing rooms and quickly changed into his gym clothes, which were as concealing as his normal school clothes.

As they came out of the changing rooms, Gohan once again felt the presence of a familiar Ki. This caused him to smile slightly, maybe this lesson wouldn't be as bad as he first thought. Videl caught sight of this new expression, it was the first time that a smile had graced his lips whilst he was within the school. _He looks so cute with a smile ... Wait, Cute? Boys are not cute, the only thing that might ever be cute are babies, and even then that is pushing it. Besides, all he does is lie. _To help her calm down she started to study the man you walked out in front of the class.

He wore a thin white T-shirt which clearly showed off his toned chest, and green trousers. Adorning his wrists were green wrist bands, which didn't look out of place despite their odd shape. The only unusual thing about him was a green bandana that was pulled low, to the point that it was almost touching his eyes. These eyes flicked across the class, his face never betraying any emotion. Only after he had looked at each student did he speak, "Hello class, my name is Mr Shin and I will be your teacher for the next term. Before we get started, do any of you have any questions?"

The smile on Gohans face grew, _I'm glad it is Tien here, out of all of them he is the best at keeping things quiet. He won't let anything slip, and nor will he hurt people._ His thoughts were interrupted by the main question, "Are you qualified to teach?"

Tien glanced at the student who had posed the question as he answered, "It depends on the class. I was taught baseball by a former professional, whilst I have had some knowledge of basketball and soccer. I am generally a quick learner on most other sports and so I will make a good attempt to teach whatever the schedule states."

The class were almost silenced by this statement, they obviously weren't expecting an honest answer and speculation was rife as to which professional had taught the teacher the basics of baseball. Whilst they were talking quietly, Tien decided to check the folder that was the upcoming lessons. For the first time, his face showed emotion as it fell. He ran to his office and phoned the reception office.

The class almost laughed as they heard the argument taking place on the phone. Apparently the class schedule called for the subject taught this term to be dance, but their teacher was refusing to agree to do that. Finally Tien walked back into the room, a faint smile on his lips. As he glanced across his students once again, he sent a silent message.  
_Sorry Gohan, this wasn't my idea but I couldn't refuse.  
Ok, I can guess what this is. Don't reveal too much though.  
_As the response was sent, Gohan winced. Tien also raised his eyebrows slightly, he didn't know that Gohan had developed that so much. He nodded a response to the request. He looked straight into the largest mass of students as he spoke, "According to the file the school prepared, you are meant to learn dance this term. I don't really know dance, and so I requested that I taught something different. I will be teaching you how to defend yourselves, you will be learning martial arts from me." A large cheer echoed through the gym, although Videl noticed that Gohan didn't look too excited. Tien continued, "I expect you all to work hard. Now, everyone adopt a fighting stance you can use. Those of you that don't have a stance, please go and stand in that corner."

There was a bustle as people moved to ensure that they had enough space. Only a handful of students moved over to the indicated corner, most were happy to adopt a stance. Videl watched as almost everyone adopted the Satan stance. She decided to keep her eyes on the teacher as he walked round the class. He examined each person for a couple of seconds before sending them to one of two corners. She guessed that the second corner was for those who were good enough, whilst those who he didn't appreciate the stance of to the corner with the novices. Finally he reached her and examined her, taking a lot longer and looking very closely. _His gaze is intense, like he is able to see all the flaws in my stance._ A flash of panic shot through her, _wait, what if he doesn't like the fact that I modified my fathers stance?_ Her panic vanished as Tien nodded, and then sent her to a different corner to the rest of the class. She was a little confused, but that vanished as he whispered, "Expert class. You are above those I have seen so far."

She walked very proudly, still watching the teacher as he walked round. He quickly passed over two more, sending Sharpner to the intermediate class before he ended in front of Gohan. _Can he not believe how bad Gohan is?_ He motioned Gohan to join Videl, something that shocked the her. _Great, so I get to tutor him now? I was meant to be improving, so that I can give my dad a good match at the next competition. Maybe the teacher doesn't feel he can beat me._ Videl was getting angry, but she refused to snap at Gohan until he gave her a reason to. She had promised herself she would try to be nice to him, and she intended to keep her promise.

When the entire class was split, Tien got them to start to warm up and then approached his two advanced students. Just as he was about to speak to them, Sharpner (who was seething at being put in the intermediate class) shouted out, "Videl should be the teacher, she is much better than you."

The compliment drew a smile from Videl, and a slight smirk from Tien. He nodded to the ring and walked into it calmly. Videl followed, her excitement growing. She had always loved a good match, and she intended to show the teacher what she was capable of. Once both were in the ring, Tien spoke softly, saying just three words, "Tournament rules, begin"

Videl nodded and dropped into her stance immediately. Her weight balanced the way she liked it, she started to study her opponent. His stance was great, she couldn't see any openings. He remained perfectly still, allowing her to start the exchange. Finally Videls' patience failed and she rushed forwards. Her first attack was a punch thrown at the chest, but even as it was blocked she had started a right heel kick. This Tien ducked calmly, watching her foot scythe through the air above him. Now he decided to take to the offensive, kicking his left foot at her chest. Already off balance, it was all she could do to block the blow. Sadly, this attack was a feint as Tiens' right foot was following it at a much lower height. Videl had no way of avoiding the leg sweep, and she fell to the floor. As she fell, she watched the teacher who finished the rotation, balancing perfectly on his right hand.

Tien flipped easily back to his feet and landed perfectly in his stance. Videl returned to a guard position a little slower, her leg was aching but the rush of adrenaline was overcoming that. Now however she was feeling anxiety. _He is almost as good a fighter as my father. This is a good chance to think how to beat him._

Instead of settling back into her usual stance, Videl decided to adopt the traditional Satan stance. Shifting her weight back subtly, she proceeded to launch herself forwards using her fathers' dynamite kick. The kick connected with the teachers chest, causing Tien to fall backwards to the floor. Her elation at knocking him down was short lived as she realised that he had dropped deliberately, and had once again caught himself on his hands. From this unusual position, both his feet snapped out and struck her back as she landed on the floor from her flying kick. The sudden impact caused Videl to stagger forward and, to her horror, over the line marking the edge of the ring.

Tien once again easily returned to his stance, and looked at Videl. She was hanging her head, fearing that he would be annoyed at her. After a couple of seconds she looked up, and saw a faint smile on his face. He motioned for her to return to the corner with Gohan before turning back to the rest of the class, "Miss Satan has just demonstrated the exact stance all of you seem to want to use. Thanks to her, I now know what it is meant to look like. When you have finished warming up, I will start you on some basic drills." His tone of voice made it very clear that this time there would be no debate.

The others in the class resumed their warm-ups as Tien walked over towards Videl and Gohan. Speaking much more softly, he said, "You two can practice as you see fit for the next couple of lessons. If there are things you need advice on, you can ask but otherwise I am trusting you." His eyes moved so he was looking at Videl straight in the face, "You fight well, but I want you to consider why you switched from your preferred stance."

Tien walked back to the class, and started to correct stances. Only when he was happy with how each student was standing did he explain the drill. They had been placed in a line, and were going to move on his command either forwards or backwards. Anyone who lost the stance after a movement was going to be designated out until just one remained. While the rest of the class started to go through this, Videl looked at Gohan. He had decided to meditate, feeling that the training exercises he was using wouldn't suit the gym. Finally her curiosity got the better of her, and she asked, "What was your stance? I mean, you don't look like a fighter yet you have been placed in this group."

Gohan didn't open his eyes at all, but replied, "I will show you it after the bell, when the others have gone."

Videl nodded, but it was all she could do not to shout at him and insist he showed her right away. As she forced herself to be patient, she asked a second question, "So what training are you going to do today?"

The response was a measly one word, "Meditation."

Videl snorted at this response and decided to practice herself. She adopted her stance and started to work through some kata's.

...

_Next chapter will be up within 2 weeks (hopefully 1). It will reveal the stance that Gohan used, and also cover a couple of other issues._


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry about the delay, real life likes to throw a cog in the works every so often. I thank everyone for their patience. My response to reviews will be at the bottom of the chapter, as they give away something that happens._

__Videl was finding the lesson dull, she had worked through every kata she knew and was now trying to think what she could do next. Her usual training, using a punch bag, was unavailable as there were no punch bags here. She eyed the class, but they were all doing a basic punch drill, which annoyed the self-proclaimed experts. Tien suddenly appeared by her side, enquiring, "Did you have any questions for me?"

Videl fought a silent internal battle, she hated asking for help. Finally pragmatism won out, and she asked quietly, "Do you have any suggestions how I could improve, training methods or whatever?"

Tien frowned slightly, and motioned her over to one side. Where the rest of the class couldn't hear, he spoke softly, "You could work on your speed by wearing extra weights as you do your daily routine, I know a number of fighters who have used this technique. I would also suggest that you try to see other stances, it will help you assess the strengths and weaknesses of those you fight. Finally I would suggest you work on controlling your emotions, otherwise someone might take advantage of that. For this, I would suggest meditation."

"Meditation? You mean what Gohan is doing? How would that help in a fight?"

"Emotions can give you extra strength in a match, but they can be a weakness. I guess I can demonstrate, but you might not want others to watch this."

Videl nodded slowly, unsure of what he was saying. "Gohan and I wanted to stay behind, he was going to show me his stance after the lesson. Would that be a good time for the demonstration."

Tien smiled, "I will talk to Gohan then, see why he uses meditation. It might be that he is the one to take part in the demonstration. His stance, well I have only ever seen one person use it before, and they did well in tournament they entered."

Videl looked at the teacher in shock as he walked over to Gohan. He positioned himself well enough that she couldn't see that there were no words spoken, as he conveyed his request via telepathy. Sighing, Videl walked over to the rest of the class, watching them as they worked through the endless repetition of punching and blocking drills.

...

The class ended, and the teacher dismissed the class. As they started to file out, he surprised them by asking both Videl and Gohan to remain. Neither of the two seemed surprised, in fact both were already at the back of the group of students when the request was made. Both walked up to the teacher, knowing that they were waiting for the class to leave before starting.

Finally the class had left, at which point Gohan and Videl moved to the ring. Gohan seemed loathe to fall into stance, which was clearly annoying Videl. He wasn't even looking at her, and she could feel her anger taking control. Tein shouted the start of the match, and Videl charged blindly. Her usual form and composure vanished as she pushed the attack furiously. "You said you would show me your stance, so do so you coward."

What she didn't notice was that Gohan was steadily moving backwards, maintaining a distance between him and her that ensured her blows wouldn't reach him. When he felt himself reach the edge of the ring, he shifted his balance. Videl swung her right foot at his head, but he sidestepped this attack and pushed her off the edge of the ring. As her foot landed, she span and leapt back onto the offensive. Gohan backed away, and Tien stepped in. He caught her attack easily and spoke softly, like someone calming a scared animal. "Videl, you stepped outside the ring. The way Gohan beat you there was what I wanted you to see, because he got under your skin and annoyed you, he was able to defeat you easily. If you let your anger take control, you make mistakes. That is why I would suggest meditation as part of every fighters training regime."

Videl looked at him, slowly realising that this was the promised demonstration. Her eyes slide to Gohan, who was smiling sheepishly but still with his eyes closed. She made herself take a deep breath, very unhappy at being tricked but calming herself so she could ask Gohan her questions. Finally she felt she could talk without raising her voice so she asked, "So Gohan, are you going to show me your stance now?"

Tien looked at Gohan for a couple of seconds, before walking towards his office. He spoke as he reached the door, "I know that you two won't cause trouble in here, feel free to use the gym whenever you need. Shut the door when you leave, I'll be back later to lock everything up."

Videl span, open-eyed at the teacher. He was clearly showing a lack of professionalism, no teacher should act the way he was. He should stay in the room until every student had left, and then lock it. She knew that teachers treated her differently, but he was giving the same responsibility to Gohan and that didn't add up. _One more question to add to the list._

With Tien gone, Videl turned back to look at Gohan. Her eyes opened in shock as he was standing there in an unusual stance. His feet were apart, one pointing forwards and the back foot pointing sideways. His weight was slightly on his back foot, meaning he would find it easier to kick off that foot and launch himself forward. It was when she tried to assess his upper body that the unusualness of the stance really sank in, his hands were pointed, fingers extended as if they were the blade of a knife. _I don't understand, he wouldn't be able to strike a hard blow with his hands like that. To combat that stance, you just need to avoid the feet. Why did the teacher say the stance had been used effectively in a tournament?_

She was brought from her thoughts by the voice of Gohan as he explained, "This stance works on speed and precision. The only powerful blows I could launch from this stance would be kicks, but that isn't an issue. Your fathers' stance sacrifices some speed to allow you more strength, the stance you use reduces this trade-off. My stance goes the other way, I sacrifice strength for greater speed. The open hands are designed to strike at the pressure points in limbs, with one or two well placed blows you could make a limb numb and that would allow you to carve open a guard."

Videl nodded, she understood most of the explanation but didn't still didn't see why the method would succeed in a tournament. She resolved to find out who used it, and watch some videos of the matches they won and lost. She felt she only really had one more question for Gohan at this time, wanting to wait until she had more information to ask some of the others. "Just how bad is your eyesight? I have noticed you don't like people to see your eyes."

Gohan blushed slightly, a nervous smile covering his mouth. "You noticed, huh? It's true, I have issues with sight, I can't distinguish colours well at all." _Well, it isn't a lie really. It's just not everything._

Videl paused, the way he said that made her feel slightly suspicious. All the normal clues that someone was lying were missing, but it seemed like he was still concealing something. Shaking her head, she turned and started to walk away, shouting over her shoulder, "See you tomorrow."

...

Videl sat scanning her computer, hunting through the archives of previous tournaments. She had guessed that the person the teacher had talked about must have been in one of the more recent tournaments and so she had limited her search to those. It was an irritating effort, she tried accessing the winners and looking at their stances but that didn't help. She also easily accessed the runners up, but there was still nothing.

She leant back in her chair, rocking it back so it rested on purely two feet. _This is futile, there are too many competitors in the tournaments, especially over the number of years. I mean, I need to go back to the twentieth tournament. How can I do this?_

She rose and pushed her chair angrily over to the side. She allowed herself to rest on her bed, closing her eyes as she tried to think. Immediately she pictured the stance that was causing her such distress. The words Gohan had spoken echoed in her mind, _he talked about the stance being one that didn't rely on strength. All the competitors at the World tournament would be the strongest fighters, so who would use a stance that didn't use their strength?_

She felt annoyed, maybe the teacher was wrong, because surely every guy would want to use a stance that showed off their strength. There was Gohan, but he surely would be an exception, he wasn't a typical guy. It was a shame that no woman had ever got to the actual knock out stages ... or had they. Videl felt cross at herself, there was the woman she idolised - The one woman who managed to get to the main part of the competition. True she had been defeated in the first round, but she had shown that women could compete. Videl quickly returned to her computer and opened the file on Chi Chi.

She looked at the stance shown, and compared it to the one she had seen earlier. They were almost identical, although she was sure that Gohan had his feet aligned differently. _Maybe I should ask him, or the teacher about that. I need to know where he learnt that stance as well, he might be able to introduce me to Chi Chi._

...

Gohan had other things on his mind, as he waited impatiently at Capsule Corp. The fact that he hadn't been discovered as Videls' saviour didn't mean he shouldn't worry about being discovered. If he was going to help out, then he needed a way to hide his real appearance. Who better than the smartest woman alive?

He had explained what his issue was, and the blue haired genius had rushed into her labs. He was slightly uncertain about what she would give him, but Trunks was chatting happily with him while he waited. His wait was ended when Bulma returned with a simple watch, which she explained would change his clothes in an instance. He decided to test it out, and felt an unusual sensation as his clothes were instantaneously compressed and replaced with a different set.

The first reaction Gohan got was a snicker from Trunks. He turned to the youngster and said, "Can you describe what I am wearing?"

The younger demi-saiyan laughed, "You have a long light blue sweat shirt and blue trousers. I wouldn't say they suit you."

Bulma glared at her son, she didn't like her fashion sense being criticised. She shot back, "It's because he isn't transformed, everyone looks good in blue and gold (1)."

Gohan quickly played diplomat, settling the conflict with a few well placed words. "I am sure that it would be true Bulma, but I really need clothes that I can fight in, and better yet ones I know exactly what they look like. Would you be able to do something like this but with a gi like my fathers, but without the teachers' symbols on it? (2)"

Bulma still looked unhappy, but she had to accept the wisdom of his words. She took the watch back and returned to her lab. This time she only took a couple of minutes as she reconfigured the watch. With the new watch set up to his requirements, he flew back to his house where his mother was awaiting him with food.

...

A tall man sat behind a table, a paper report sat in front of him. His eyes flicked across the information, a look of displeasure quickly forming on his lips. He looked at the two men standing to the side of the desk and spoke coldly, "I expect this ended immediately. Standard compensation will be given."

The two men nodded and walked out of the room.

...

Chi Chi walked into her eldest sons' bedroom, and immediately noticed the empty bed. He obviously had risen already and started training early once again. Hoping that he would still be ready for school, she walked back down to the kitchen. As she walked past the kitchen, she saw Gohan and promptly screamed.

...

_(1) An in-joke, if anyone knows what group this is the unofficial motto of, I'm impressed.  
(2) This seemed immediately logical, and something that might have been overlooked in some other stories ... I wouldn't be entirely sure though. If he still had the teacher symbols on his gi, then they would show Piccolo and Son Goku. From there Videl should be able to connect, at least provisionally, Gohan and the mystery fighter._

_Mystic4Gohan, I refer you to my message in regards to what you said.  
Zi-Dawg, I hope to do a proper match between the two, the one above wouldn't really count as a match. That was merely an example of why emotions aren't always useful, and it really seemed to fit to have Gohan doing so, rather than Tien trying to enrage Videl._

_I am glad that so many are enjoying it so far, as all it seems to be doing really is building up to the main story. I think the pacing should pick up shortly._


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry this took so long, I am still not entirely happy with the chapter and I also would like this chapter to be longer._

_Thank you for all the kind reviews, I wouldn't give up on this story but they help ensure my mind doesn't wander too much._

_Zi-dawg, the next person she finds out about will play havoc with her brain. Piccolo will appear, because he always is around but if she sees him at a tournament she could think it was merely a costume._

"What do you think you are doing?" Chi Chi was almost hysterical, her eyes wide as she stared at her oldest son.

Gohan turned to his mother, eyes held closed as had became habit. His aura was a bright gold, his face holding a serious expression. He spoke quietly to his mother, "I couldn't sleep, so I started to train. I need to perfect this transformation, otherwise it isn't really useful."

Chi Chi nodded, but her eyes showed sorrow. Without his sight, however, Gohan couldn't see this. She took a couple of seconds to control her voice, before asking, "Will you work with Goten at some point? It would be nice if you can get him to the point you reached with your dad."

Gohan nodded, a faint flicker of emotion showing on his face. "I will, but it would take a fair amount of time. I will work on it with him in the holidays, but I need to work on my skills as well."

This really caught Chi Chi off guard. She stared at him with the penetrative glare she had used so successfully when he was younger. Gohan was completely unfazed, which prompted her to ask, "Why?"

Gohan looked up at the roof, snapping to a decision that he had almost made the day before. Without a sign, he shifted to telepathic communication.  
_I'm having bad dreams, and I think the others suspect something bad  
What do you mean? _Even in her mind, Chi Chi sounded worried.  
_Piccolo is following me, and Tien is one of my teachers.  
What do you think is up?  
I have no idea, but I don't want them to know I have noticed.  
I see ... this had better not interfere in your studying.  
It won't. I already know everything they are trying to teach anyway.  
Straight A's, or I will tell them everything.  
Ok, I understand._

Chi Chi looked down, then with cheer in her voice said, "Breakfast will be in half an hour, you will be washed before you eat."

Gohan merely nodded, returning to his training. At this point, he was trying to lower his power level as much as possible, whilst maintaining the transformation.

...

Videl landed her jetcopter, analysing the situation she was facing. A couple of men were attempting to rob a bank whilst taking shots at the police who had moved to stop them. Her eyes narrowed as she approached carefully along the side of the bank. In a rush of movement, she threw herself at the first man. A swift kick to his head brought him down, but caught the attention of the second. He span, gun raised as he searched for the person causing the noise. As he spotted Videl, he found that she had slammed her hand into his wrist, sending the gun flying to the side. A smirk adorning her face, Videl dropped to her knees and punched upwards. Her fist slammed into her targets lower abdomen, driving up to compress his lungs. Feeling confident that both the criminals were beaten, Videl stood and walked back towards the police. The one thing she didn't expect was one of the innocent bystanders to whip out a gun and fire at her.

This time Videl kept her eyes open, which meant she saw what could only be described as a miracle. The bullet was met in midair by a golden ball, from which it never emerged. The ball had descended rapidly, before freezing in place. Videl felt her eyes widen, she couldn't think of an explanation for this. Her attacker had fled, his head bowed and weapon cast aside. He managed to escape the police, much to her annoyance. Videl spent a few seconds staring at the ball, watching as it returned to the sky. It flew to a man who was hovering there, a gold light surrounding him. She studied his clothes as best she could with the distance between, sure she had seen a gi of that style before. The orb went to his hand, and then vanished without any real cause. Videl walked slowly to her vehicle, her joy at seeing the person who seemed to be her saviour being outweighed by the knowledge that she would have to put up with another bout of questioning in the lessons.

Above her, Gohan had rocketed off towards the school. Saving Videl's life had taken a few seconds, but he didn't want to get there late. He had plenty of time in theory, but knew it would be better to play it safe.

...

The second lesson of the day was on the computers, which were on the top floor. As the class seated themselves, Gohan found himself next to Videl. Neither spoke as they worked, both trying to get the work done quickly. Glancing sideways at one point, Videl noticed that he was working with his eyes closed and headphones in. Even so, his work was progressing rapidly, words almost appearing on the screen. She couldn't help but be impressed, especially as he looked almost bored.

Videl turned back to her work, trying to bring her wandering thoughts under control. Gohan could sense her, but he was concentrating on something else. He could feel someone walking about on the roof opposite with an odd object. After the attempt on Videl's life earlier, his instincts were sharper than ever. As the person knelt and pointed the object at her, he concentrated.

A loud bang attracted the attention of the class. Everyone turned to look, and saw a bullet frozen in the air mere millimetres from the head of Videl. A number of the girls screamed, and everyone bar two dived for safety beneath their desks. A further five shots rang out, but all seemed to hit an invisible shield as they approached Videl.

All Videl could do was sit there, staring at the bullets as they hovered in front of her face. The person seated next to her hadn't even turned, his attention still on his computer as he typed away. Only a slight frown was the only sign of emotion on his face, but that faded as a small explosion occurred on the roof from which the shots were fired.

Gohan knew this was getting silly, he needed to make sure that this assassin was caught. He concentrated, channelling his ki and creating a small ball outside the window. From there it was simply a matter of controlling its flight into the man. It hit, making an explosion. Gohan knew that his target was unconscious, which allowed him to relax. He took a breath to control his emotions, before turning his full attention back to the work.

Videl noticed that Gohan had acted oddly, and promised herself that she would question him about it. Sadly, her first chance vanished as the flustered teacher dismissed the class immediately. Next was a fifteen minute break, but he seemed to vanish and she got inundated with questions from her classmates. Her patience with these questions was fading rapidly, and she still hadn't been able to ask Gohan why he was so calm. Her patience was fading rapidly, her normally short temper raging against all of her control.

In the third lesson, Gohan seemed to be ignoring Videl. She settled for glaring at him, but as always he seemed completely unfazed by it. This didn't help matters, instead causing her to seethe throughout the boring maths lesson. It was as the class started to leave that Gohan walked straight past her, whispering, "You have been acting oddly today, is something up? If you would like to talk to me, head up to the roof. We can talk alone up there."

Videl felt a rush, her answers would be answered very soon. For some reason, her heart seemed to be beating a little faster than normal. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, glancing at the door as she did. Sharpner was waiting there, along with a number of his friends. The sight of this brought her down to earth, she had to find a way to send them away otherwise she wouldn't be able to question Gohan.

A faint smirk came to her lips as she walked quickly over to the assembling mass and spoke rapidly, "I need to ask the teacher a couple of questions about our homework, could you save me a seat under our tree."

Sharpner seemed unsure, but Erasa grabbed him and started to pull him off. Videl found herself marvelling at the strength of her bubbly friend, a strength that only showed when she really wanted her own way. No-one had yet broken her grasp when they were being pulled to go shopping, and the self-professed 'second strongest in the school' was being led like a naughty child. Videl gave them a couple of minutes before turning to walk up onto the roof.

When she arrived she saw Gohan relaxing with his back to the door, looking over the roof at the other students. She closed the door and stepped over to him, studying his face carefully. Finally she decided to come out and ask the main question that had been bugging her for the past hour. Her voice seemed to be a slightly higher pitch than usual, probably from the stress, "How could you stay so calm in class when someone is shooting at us?"

"I didn't see any reason to panic. You were fine and the bullets weren't hitting anyone." Gohan sounded calm, an emotion that she was starting to automatically associate with him.

The response made Videl stare in shock, it took her a couple of seconds to find her voice. "You didn't even glance around so how did you know the bullets didn't hit anything?"

A soft laugh was not the answer she was expecting, but was the one she received. Finally he spoke, his voice steady as if he was speaking to a child, "I could hear. They were fired but didn't make a sound to show they made impact."

Videl did not appreciate being patronised, anger once again surging through her veins. This emotion was clearly evident in her voice as she almost growled, "Well, excuse me for thinking you might show concern for those around you."

This hurt Gohan, but his face remained impassive. He reached a snap decision and decided to counter. His voice was level, also hiding the pain that he felt, as he spoke "Your friends down there are wondering what kept you, right now they are discussing your miracle escape." He waited, but there was no response as Videl was staring at him wide-eyed. After giving her a few seconds, he continued, "My hearing is good enough to hear roughly what they are all saying. I eat my lunch up here each day so I heard what you were all saying about me on my first day."

This time he didn't give her a chance to speak, moving quickly to the door and leaving her alone up on the roof. Videl felt a sharp pain but couldn't quite understand why. To distract herself, she contacted the police force to enquire what they had learnt about the people firing at her.

...

To say it was a bad day was an understatement. First someone had tried to shoot her as she fought crime, luckily that golden guy had saved her. He used some odd methods, which she felt she needed to understand. Next another person had fired at her during class, but for an unknown reason the bullets had frozen in midair. This must have been another one of his tricks, like he did the previous day. Apparently he had also dealt with the assassin, who had yet to regain consciousness and seemed to have suffered a couple of broken ribs. Finally Gohan, the new boy who she had wanted to understand, had revealed that he didn't feel he was in danger and that he had heard everyone talking unkindly about him on his first day.

To say it was a bad day was an understatement. First some idiot had attempted a cold blooded murder of someone who risked her life to help others. Luckily he had dealt with that. That, combined with the second attempt, made him slightly worried. The fact they had failed meant that they would soon try other ideas. He couldn't watch over her all the time, and sooner or later they would think of something that would make him revealed. He had almost slipped in class today, but he felt that his revelation about hearing what people had said had distracted Videl. She did feel hurt by what he said, and he regretted that but he couldn't keep up the lie about his hearing for much longer.


	7. Chapter 7

_I promise that no matter what this story will be finished. Well, I guess there are a few exceptions, but baring anything really serious, or incredibly unlikely (such as a meteor landing slap bang on my laptop), I will finish this story. I owe everyone a lot of apologies, but I have had absolutely no free time over the past few weeks. It was only when I read a review that I realised just how long I had been running about without stopping, and that I needed to let people know that I wasn't going to let the story die out. This chapter has been written over two nights, in three hour shifts between 1 and 4 am. This might mean that there are mistakes, and probably means that it isn't my best work. I will not be writing more chapters at this time if I can help it, I prefer to work when I am fully awake. I will be aiming to get another chapter out in a week or two, I shouldn't be so busy. I hope this chapter is enjoyed, although I understand any criticism sent my way. It merely helps me to improve my writing._

The house lay in flames, a gold light glowing in my hands. I could see a gold blur shoot from the house, shattering the door as it arced at me. I didn't wait to see Goten's face, unleashing the Ki blast and killing him instantly. I could hear the screams from within the house, it sounded like my mother was trapped in her bedroom, but I didn't seem to care. With almost supernatural awareness, I tilted my head. A thin beam of gold sped past me, slamming into the body of the small demi-Saiyan. Before Piccolo could react I was on him, launching a barrage of attacks into his stomach. He twisted, pulling away to try and gain some separation. It was as if he felt that his longer limbs would give him an edge at the greater range. What a fool, as he pulled back, I held two fingers in front of my face. He regained his stance, a sickly look appearing on his face as he realised what technique I was about to use. Shame he couldn't react fast enough, the thin beam carving its way through his chest. I know that Namekians can regenerate a large number of injuries, so I twisted the beam back towards me and sent it cutting its way through the back of his skull.

Gohan woke up in a cold sweat, his heart feeling heavy. This was the second nightmare he had suffered recently, the second looking at harming those he cared about. Even as he thought that, a further face appeared in his mind. _At least Videl wasn't there._

.

Life became very odd for the next few days. The school had a perimeter of policemen watching out for Videl, and the classes were very well behaved. The one thing that was really troubling Videl was the attitude of the new boy, who seemed to have abandoned any attempt to befriend the class. How much of this was down to what people had been saying about him before the shooting was unknown. Finally the week started to draw to a close, with the final lesson being gym.

The class walked in, looking curiously at the teacher. He watched each student begin to warm up, a faint smile on his face. The class were all wondering what he had in mind, but before Tien had a chance to speak, Sharpner called out, "I'm a much better fighter than the nerd, why is he in the same group as Videl?"

Tien merely motioned with his head to the ring in the centre of the class. Sharpner moved there quickly, an arrogant grin decorating his face. Gohan followed him more slowly, almost uncertainly. Videl watched closely, she wanted to see how well Gohan could use his stance against the Satan stance created by her father. Sadly for her, she never got to see.

Sharpner dropped confidently into the well known Satan stance, and watched as Gohan adopted his stance. Videl was sure she recognised it, but couldn't think who she had seen using it. Erasa was the one who worked out what stance Gohan was using, as she asked, "Vi, when did you teach him to use your stance?"

Videl didn't answer, her attention locked solely on the fight. Sharpner quickly threw a punch, which Gohan ducked easily. A right roundhouse kick followed, but still aiming at the head so Gohan maintained his low stance. Videl narrowed her eyes, this was her stance but not her style. She did notice that Sharpner was quickly losing his composure. Sharpner took a step back and attempted the trademark dynamite kick. It seemed that this was what Gohan was waiting for, as he rolled forwards underneath the attack, before finally emulating some of Videls attacks. From the forward roll he used his hands to spring upwards and back towards his opponent, legs knitting themselves around Sharpners neck. From here he twisted his back, launching Sharpner across the ring with a perfect hurricanrana. It was all Sharpner could do to break his fall, slapping the floor hard and rolling forwards. Sadly for him this resulted in him leaving the ring. _I guess the best way to describe how Gohan fights is opportunistic. If I fight him I mustn't leave any openings._

Tien stepped into the ring and and clapped his hands once. With the classes attention on him, he spoke, "I expect that you all want to go home, that you really can't be bothered to try too hard for the last lesson before the weekend. If that is the case then you will not get anything from any advice I try to give. As this is probably the case then we will spend this lesson every week watching videos of previous fights, and discussing how each person fought. Does anyone have any particular fights they want us to start with?"

Videl felt her heart sink as almost the entire class clamoured for fights involving their champion. She did notice that Gohan was staying very quiet. As Tien started to set up the television set to show the fights at the twenty-fourth tournament, Videl walked up to him and whispered a question. Tien looked at her curiously, but he agreed. As the rest of the class grabbed chairs and arranged to sit near friends, Videl wandered over to Gohan. Erasa noticed this, "He Vi, aren't you going to sit with us and watch your dad win."

She span around, an odd smile decorating her face as she answered, "Sorry 'rasa, I want to practise more. I'd like to talk to Gohan about his style, I might pick up tips on fighting defensively."

This caused a clamour in the class, but Tien quickly gained control by starting the video. With this distraction Videl led Gohan into one of the nearby empty classrooms. There she sat down, eyeing him almost suspiciously. Her stare didn't affect him, he calmly sat down. It was only a few seconds of silence, but it felt like an age. Finally Videl snapped, breaking the silence with a sudden question, "Was it Chi-Chi who taught you how to fight, I learnt that she used that stance."

Gohan smiled, it was as if he was laughing at a joke she had said. Try as she might, Videl couldn't see what was funny. Gohan finally took pity on her, as he asked, "Did you teach me your stance? I learnt this stance from watching it be used, no one ever really taught me how to use it."

Videl looked puzzled at this, but her curiousity grew with what Gohan said next, "There was another stance at that tournament you might recognise."

Videl paused, wondering what he meant. Her mind started to drift, and she ended up replaying the fight earlier in her mind. She suddenly realised that as usual Gohan kept his eyes sealed shut. She opened her eyes, studying the guy sat a few paces away. He wasn't looking at her, his head bowed and eyes closed. She quietly picked up an abandoned rubber and threw it towards him. Without moving his head at all, Gohan snapped a hand up and caught the rubber easily. Videl gasped, and so Gohan answered the unasked question, "I could hear it, my sight is poor so I rely more on my hearing a lot more than most."

Videl remembered the essay Gohan had written on his first day, when he had claimed that a skilled fighter could fight blind. She was still very unsure about this, but it seemed that Gohan believed it was definitely possible. She was pulled from her thoughts by a ruckus, which ended a couple of seconds later when someone burst their way through the door. A man walked in, a light pink tunic being the first thing that was noticed. Second to this was the unusual make up of his face, with what appeared to be telescopic cameras replacing his eyes. This man smiled cruelly as he walked forwards, a blade appearing in place of one of his hands.

Videl stared at this development, her mind was shouting at her to defend herself but for some reason her body didn't want to move. He dove forwards, the blade aimed to plunge into her heart. It took a quick movement from Gohan to save her, but that was something Gohan was very good at. He was between the two in a second, his hand slapping the blade harmlessly wide. Tao backed up slightly, a little fazed by the steely glare that Gohan was giving him. "You will leave this place and you will never come near anyone in this building again or else I will destroy you."

Videl gasped at the threat Gohan had uttered, unsure what to make of it. What was also puzzling her was the stance Gohan was in, it wasn't one that she had seen him use before, but was again one she felt she should recognise. The pure venom in his voice was troubling Tao, who found himself rummaging through his inbuilt database to place his opponent. _Target identified with a 90 percent probability. Target name, Gohan Son. Last encountered seven years ago._ The name rang alarm bells in Taos' head, and he started to flee, shouting "You are lucky I need to be somewhere else. Next time we meet I will kill you both."

Videl stood there, watching the unfolding events with complete confusion. As Gohan span around to face her, she realised something. His eyes were completely unfocused, and showed signs of serious damage. It didn't take her long to put it together and she suddenly exclaimed, "You're blind, aren't you."


	8. Chapter 8

_Sorry once again. I feel I must explain the delay in this chapter coming up. I would advise everyone who writes a story to plan and then stick to it ... I decided that I didn't like the flow and so left my plan (Tao was going to play a slightly bigger part and Videl wasn't going to learn about Gohans lack of sight that early). Because of this I haven't been fully sure how to approach this chapter._

_As an additional note, I haven't yet had Gohan use the stance learnt from Chi-Chi in a proper match. This is because I am slightly worried about it, in the hands of a skilled fighter it can make limbs numb in a couple of blows, what would it do when the hands can block blades or can crush mountains?_

_..._

Gohan snapped his eyes closed, he didn't even remember opening them. He let his mind race, trying to think of a way out of the predicament he had placed himself in. He knew that he wouldn't be able to talk her out of her conclusion, she was smart enough to know what she was talking about.

At the same time, Videl was also thinking hard. She was picturing everything she had seen Gohan do over the week. She wanted to fire a volley of questions at him, but she wasn't sure he would be honest with her. It was also a challenge to think what questions she should ask. Both were pulled from their thoughts by the ringing of the school bell. Videl felt that she would have to make do with one question, and she knew what she was going to ask. "Who was that man, the one who tried to attack me?"

Gohans' face showed slight confusion, this was not the topic he thought that she would be questioning him on. "His name is Tao, a former student of the crane school of martial arts."

As he finished, he started to walk away. Videl nodded slowly, the name rang a bell but she wasn't overly sure why. Noticing that Gohan was nearly out of earshot, she said, "I won't tell anyone about your secret, but I will want to talk to you later."

Gohan merely responded with a one word answer, "Sure."

Videl waited for Gohan to have gone before pulling out her phone and dialling the police station. It rang a couple of times before being answered. After a short conversation Videl felt that she knew as much as she would learn about Tao. A merciless killer who was hired at massive cost to remove select targets. She felt slightly honoured that someone was that desperate to have her killed, but there were still puzzles to be solved. Why would he flee from Gohan, she knew he was a good fighter but surely she was better ...

Her internal thoughts were forced to end when her gym teacher walked in, looking concerned. "Are you ok? What went on here?"

"Someone broke into the school, but they didn't manage to do anything." Videl tried to keep her voice calm, choosing her words carefully so as not to reveal that it was down to Gohan that she was still alive. She thought that there was something odd about the teachers face, something that she couldn't quite place.

Tien had felt Gohan's ki flare, and was glad that Piccolo had caused the school bell to ring early so that he could get here. He knew that Gohan had gone, but he had suppressed his power and it was impossible to follow him. He needed to know if Gohan had done anything odd, but he didn't know what the best way to ask was. Finally he gave up, how could he ask a question that might jeopardise Gohan's chances of settling in to the class.

...

The weekend had been uneventful, Videl had spent the entire time trying to dig up information and finding that there was very little to go on. She had learnt that Tao was a former WMAT competitor, but had been defeated by Tien Shinhan. The name wasn't anything similar to Gohan, but the face looked slightly familiar. It was only on her way school on the Monday that she finally placed him, he was one of the people at the Cell games. That was something that she felt needed following up, but when she walked into the classroom she saw something odd. The principle was standing at the front, motioning for the class to quiet down. Videl sank into her seat looking at her two close friends. Sharpner and Erasa were busy chatting away, they hadn't even noticed that she had turned up on time for once. Gohan also hadn't greeted her, he was sat impassively facing the front.

The principle waved a person in to the room, a tall and attractive woman. Well, Videl guessed she was attractive based on the response of most of the guys suddenly staring at her. Gohan was the only one not to be dumbstruck but she supposed that was to be understood as he couldn't see what the woman looked like. Videl leant back with her pad of paper ready, wondering who this lady was and why they had departed from the normal routine. She seemed to be glaring across the class, her eyes lingering on each of the admiring students. Much to Videls surprise, the gaze of the mystery lady softened markedly when she looked at Gohan.

Finally the lady spoke, "Good morning. I have been asked to talk to you all by Capsule Corporation on the subject of Biomechanics and Robotics. This field has shown many impressive developments over the years, even though a number of them have been overshadowed by the capsulation process and different innovations. It is through a number of these developments that some of the Capsule corporation inventions have been possible."

Eighteen carried on in the same vein for half an hour, her gaze always managing to locate a student who was thinking about misbehaving. Her flow was finally interrupted by one of the students who asked, "Would it be possible to make someone better at fighting using these improvements?"

The response was spoken in an icy voice, "It has been tried. Currently Capsule Corp have successfully lobbied for any research into this field to be banned."

One of the lads in the front row laughed, "Just like Capsule Corporation, getting laws passed to make sure they cannot be challenged."

Eighteen didn't seem fazed by the interruption, continuing, "This is due to a number of violent criminals having been aided by robotic enhancements. The most famous one is a man named Tao, who has been amplified in a number of ways. He is the weakest of all those who have been assisted by this science, and also the first one created by Doctor Gero. After him Gero tried to push the boundaries even further, and created a further five androids. All five of them were designed to kill, four of whom actually succumbed and tried to. Four of those five have been destroyed due to the dangers that they pose, they were all much stronger than his first creation. After that, Gero turned to bio-engineering, and created Cell."

With that name, the class looked at each other, it was no longer funny. The talk continued for a short while longer, but most of the class were ignoring it having decided that they weren't interested in robotics. Finally Eighteen let them go, the class filing out quietly. Videl also left, but knew she needed to talk to the mystery lady. She wandered off to grab some food before rushing back to find the lady.

She was found in the gym, talking to Tien. Videl hesitated as she heard some of the words being said.

"You are insane if you think he will start hurting people, you saw how long it took him to recover after Goku died."

"It is in his blood, he will become more aggressive and dangerous. I hate to think what will cause him to snap."

"Well, I wish you luck. I doubt it will happen, and if it does, I'm on his side."

"Are you insane? He would be a threat to everyone on the planet."

"I am only alive because of him, my daughter only exists because of him. He has shown he can adapt to anything that happens to him, look at how he copes without his sight. He is Goku's son, he couldn't become evil and start to kill."

"I hope you are right."

Videl backed away, her heart heavy. She knew Gohan had secrets, but why would anyone think he would kill people. Furthermore, if they thought that why didn't they ask her for her help? _There is only one thing to do, I need to talk to Gohan about this._

...

She found him in his customary position, sat on the roof resting. If she didn't know better, she would say he was staring at the clouds. She moved over and sat next to him, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. It took a few seconds, but then she heard his unmistakable voice as he whispered, "Something wrong Videl?"

Videl felt her face heat up in anger as she responded, "No, why would there be?"

Almost emotionless, Gohan said two words, "You're crying."

Videl rubbed her eyes, surprised to find moisture there. She brushed that away, switching tact, "You know the gym teacher and the new lady are talking about you in the gym, right?"

That did draw an emotion from Gohan, a faint frown appearing. "What would they be saying?"

"The teacher seems to think you are dangerous, but the lady disagrees. Why would they think that way?" Videl sounded slightly sad, it was affecting her more than she realised.

Gohan paused, thinking carefully. "What I say here you cannot repeat, ok?" His request was met with a nod, so he continued, "The teacher, Tien, and some others seem to think I am going to become dangerous, they are watching me carefully."

Videl stared at him before asking, "Did you say Tien? Our gym teacher is a former World Champion?"

This question drew a nod from Gohan, but Videl was thinking about other things she had heard. She was sure that the lady had said Goku. _Is Gohan the child of Goku? The stance he used against Tao was the same as Goku used._

Finally Videl decided to probe further, "They talked about you coping without sight. Does this mean that you at one point could see?"

Gohan smiled, something that you didn't see him do too often. "You are right, I was born able to see perfectly fine but lost that gift. It took time, but I learnt to live without it. I would say that I have become a lot better since, and I have learnt a lot about myself."

Videl was still curious, but she couldn't think how to ask why people thought that Gohan was going to be dangerous. It was also puzzling her that this meant that a former champion was needed to keep an eye on him, surely they could have asked her or her father to stop anything that happened. She looked at the cause of her confusion, saying softly, "I'm not going to talk to this to anyone, but I want more answers."

Gohan smirked, something that started Videl's heart racing. _Why do I feel like this, how can he make my heart act like this._ Her issues almost caused her to miss the answer that accompanied the gesture, "I am aware of that. Whatever you ask I will try to answer, but not now and always in private."

...

Shortly later, the two had met the rest of the class in the gym where the teacher had asked for the specialist to talk about self-defence against enhanced opponents. The blond instructor talked about the need to be innovative, citing the way that the same sequence of moves would soon get memorised. Tien was aiding her, demonstrating different methods of creating unusual angles of attack. In a couple of cases this involved dropping low to land punches to the knee. Videl was seated off to the side with Gohan, and was finding this interesting, whispering "Could my father hold his own against an android?"

Gohan froze, his mind thinking fast. _If I say that he couldn't then she would be wondering why we are talking like they can be beaten. _He finally answered "He might, but to beat an android you need to do so quickly. If you take time, the android has an advantage. They don't tire, they process your techniques mechanically."

Videl nodded slowly, aware that something was being concealed. She turned her blue eyes to stare at him, asking softly, "Why do you lie to me?"

Gohan was caught off balance, he had half-expected her to realise he was lying but found her approach unusual. He sighed, "I would doubt he could beat you, let alone an android. Tao is a lot stronger than most humans, he was even before he was given the upgrades. The later androids make him look powerless, they are very tough to fight."

Videl stared at him, thinking that he had gone crazy. "Tao was scared of you, are you saying that you are stronger than my father?"

Gohan lowered his head, knowing that anything he said now could cause more trouble for him. He thought, picking his words carefully. "I have fought Tao before, and the result was not the one he expected."

Videl snorted, she could see through the words. _He really thinks he can beat my father. If that was the case then I could date ... what the hell am I thinking, I don't want to date him. I don't date anyone._ She turned back to see the class being let out, and joint the crowd. With a flick of her hand, she motioned for Gohan to follow. She didn't understand how he could react to those motions, but she knew he would. She led him through hallways, her pace rapid as if she was worried someone was following her. Finally she opened a room which revealed an empty room with no real furniture. She perched on one of the desks and then smiled at him.

Gohan stood uncomfortably next to the door, he was unsure what she was expecting. As she started to speak, his heart felt heavier. "I want you to tell me, exactly how strong are you?"

He spoke softly, almost as if he regretted his words as he spoke them, "I am stronger than most. The last time I fought Tien, I won. I have beaten each of the strongest on this planet in fair fights."

The words made Videl freeze, she was sure he had never fought her father or her, yet he claimed to have beaten the strongest. She felt insulted, and let him feel some of her fury, "My father beat Cell, you should show him respect."

Gohan stared at her with his sightless eyes, his words loaded with scorn, "If that is what you believe, then it isn't my place to correct you."

Videl felt hurt, where did this aggressive attitude come from. She suddenly realised that Tien was at the Cell games, so Gohan might know quite a lot about what happened. She wondered exactly how she should approach the topic, especially after his odd reaction to her earlier statement. She finally settled on apologising and trying to charm him. "I'm sorry Gohan, I just don't see why you act like my father is nothing. I'm sure you would give him a good match if you challenged him."

As she finished, a quiet voice said in her mind, _plus if you win I could date you._ She shook her head vigorously, she couldn't think where that came from. She looked at him as he thought it over, but he then sighed, "I don't know. I don't really want to fight against him."

Videl glared again, her mind racing. _Does he mean that he couldn't win? The way he talked before would suggest he is confident he is better than my father. I know he isn't interested in my dad, but surely every fighter wants to test his strength against the man who bested Cell ... _

So lost in her thoughts was Videl that she didn't see the blond lady walk into the room. Her eyes flicked to Gohan as she said, "You are hiding well. The others are sure that you have gone home."

A soft laugh from Gohan drew Videl's attention. Before she could act, Gohan was talking, "Eighteen, it is good to see you. I gather that you have also been told that I am meant to be going insane and killing everyone." Seeing the look of shock appear on the usually impassive android, Gohan continued with a smirk, "I worked out that I was being followed, and found out why. I hope you won't let the others know I have found out."

Eighteen nodded once, but any words she would have said were cut off by Videl asking, "Eighteen is an odd name, may I ask why it is you have such a name?"

Eighteen glanced to Gohan and saw a slight nod which prompted her, "I am an android, I was the eighteenth one created. It is because of Gohan that I am alive, he saved me from Cell."


	9. Chapter 9

_Thank you for all the lovely reviews. _

_SSJ3MysticGohan – That was one of the reasons I wasn't too happy with the last chapter. It is similar for this one, I'm not 100% sure about the pacing at the moment. I think the problem is I don't want to end up feeling that the story is dragging. If you have any advice how I could make it feel less rushed (both the previous chapter and in general) then let me know._

_Zi-Dawg – As you'll see in the first chapter, the wording 18 used allows for some gray area._

_The0Blind0Writer – I think it was in chapter 2 (and I'm typing my replies at 4am so can't really be bothered to go and check), but I mentioned that Vegeta remembered teachings from the Saiyan race that said Half-Blood Saiyans turn evil, and that the Kai's had informed Piccolo of this fact. I guess I'd have to say they are being overprotective and not showing much faith in him, but at the same time he does possess the power to destroy the planet. If he did become evil they would need to be there quickly to stop him doing anything, so I felt it would be the most practical method._

_WhyIsAnimeAddicting – Sadly the fact it changed has left me working with a very basic plan and a feeling of unhappiness with the most recent of chapters._

_Mystic4 Gohan – Mostly dealt with in the pm. Thanks for all your help._

_Dark Raku – The first issue is down partly to me making a grave error. My mind said that Tao could fly (I know he can't), and I felt that the police were unlikely to notice someone flying onto the roof of the school. When I realised my error, I was forced to think. I believe that Tao still possesses the dark nimbus, so I'm going to say he used this (until someone tells me that he no longer has it …). There were no major consequences, the police have merely up their guard assuming that someone slipped through posing as a delivery person or such. The biggest thing that is caused was 18 to go into the school to talk about androids. The second part is simpler, I have never said how Gohan became blind. It will be revealed later on, when Gohan trusts Videl enough to tell her it. He hasn't actually explained it fully to everyone, it is assumed that somehow the beam used by Cell did the damage, although oddly it wasn't healed by either sensu beans or by Namekian healing. Finally, about no one talking to Gohan about this, I did this because I felt that they would worry about it becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. The knowledge that he was going to become evil would probably make him train harder to avoid it, meaning that if he did become evil he would be even harder to stop._

_To all the others – I read every word, replies are posted to answer questions I'm posed. The fact that you are all willing to give up some of your time to comment on what I have written is very nice of you. Thank you all. _

…

Videl stood shocked, unable to find fault with the answer provided. As her mind tried to come to terms with what had been said, she noticed that Gohan had shown a faint grimace. _So this was something he had been hiding from me? He fought against Cell? He must have done well if he saved someone's life, but I guess he wasn't good enough to finish the job. Still, if he has been training since the Cell games, he might stand a chance against my father. _She smirked, "Gohan, could you come to my house? I think my dad would like to meet you."

Gohan turned to look at her, wondering exactly what was going through the young ladies mind. Still, he had a few more minutes to spare, his trick wouldn't be uncovered easily. Thinking that there could be no harm in doing as she asked, he decided that his best idea would be to put the situation back. "I will Videl. Why exactly does your father want to meet me?"

Videl felt heat rushing to her cheeks, very glad that Gohan couldn't see the reaction he had drawn. The implication in his words was not exactly what she had meant, not conciously at least. _ Great, now he will think that I want to date him. I hope he doesn't mention this to anyone otherwise this could get very difficult. _Eighteen had a faint smirk as she left the building, deciding to let the youngsters get closer together.

…

The two of them slipped out of the class, both wanting to not be noticed. Videl had no desire to have a police escort as she walked the streets, whilst Gohan was still hopeful that he could evade his watchers. It was a wonderful plan, and allowed the two youths to walk in peace and enjoy each others company for a few minutes. It would have been longer, except for two figures who approached them. They were both of an average height and possessed identical facial features. There was nothing remarkable about either of them, they were almost a perfect match to the average male.

Videl glared at them, but the question the first asked almost swept her off balance, "Are you Videl Satan?"

Videl nodded slowly, about to snap back at them. Any fun she would have got from doing so was destroyed with the statement issued from the second, "I am Secundus, and this is Primoris. We are here to kill you."

Primoris shot forwards at an inhuman speed, his fist scything towards Videl's head. The blow stopped suddenly, Gohan holding the blow with absolute ease. Primoris grinned and twisted, his right foot arcing up perfectly towards his opponents head. The flexibility demonstrated might have beaten a weaker opponent, but Gohan dragged the captured fist into the foot to block. Another look of amusement covered his face, but this time he pulled away. With the aditional distance between the two, he raised his hands and shouted out an attack. "Solar Flare."

…

Piccolo was above Gohan's house, assuming that the demi-saiyan was inside. However he had started to feel the slow increase in ki of his former student. Flaring his power to get the attention of the others he shot towards his hiding student, soon sensing three others joining him in his persuit.

…

Videl felt the energy sear her eyes, forcing them shut. Her ears could hear the laughter of the two assailents, "Poor lad. You did well but how well do you think you can do now that you cannot see?"

Their mocking caused Videl to laugh, especially when Gohan said softly, "I haven't been using my eyes so far in this fight, I don't see why that would change now."

This statement knocked the two back slightly, but they quickly adopted defensive stances as they awaited the counterattack, something that wasn't long in coming. Without another word, Gohan had shot forwards. His right foot arced towards Primoris, attempting to knock his opponent over. This was blocked, but it knocked the victim off balance as he had to bring both hands up to block. Gohan followed up with a punch, which Secundus stepped across to block for his friend. Both were forced back a bit, an advantage that Gohan continued to press. His fighting was very mechanic, it was almost as if he was following a set routine of moves with certain attacks following others. What the other three didn't realise was that Gohan was no longer paying any attention to the fight, he hadn't from the point he first charged.

…

_Poor Boy_

"Who is this?" Gohan's voice sounded calm, but there was a slight edge to it that betrayed unease. His unease continued to grow as a reply came.

_You are a half-breed, a Saiyan who has lost everything._

The fact that this voice seemed to know so much about Gohan was eating away at him, his confidence taking a battering as he slowly started to realise that someone apparently knew a lot about him. Part of his training kicked in, and he did everything he could to hide his discomfort when he spoke, "Who I am isn't what we were talking about. Who are you?"

_A poor boy, born to a race that doesn't care. The Saiyans have brought pain to your life._

Almost unbidden images started to appear in his mind, memories popping up and bringing back pain. Almost as if it was yesterday, he saw his father and Piccolo fighting against Raditz. He could feel the pain he experienced at the time, forced to re-watch his uncle bully his father. He started to fold his mind inwards, emptying his thoughts. Sadly, no sooner than his mind started to clear than the voice returned.

_The Saiyans don't care about you._

This message once again created images. This time it was the arrival of Vegeta and Nappa. He was forced to watch as his friends were killed in front of him, more emotions being dragged through his heart. When Piccolo sacrificed himself, he was almost at breaking point, his heart feeling like it would snap. The image of Vegeta pounding Goku mercilessly suddenly forced its way into his mind. His head sank, his eyes closed and tears started to trace lines down his cheeks.

_They are scared, they will execute you very shortly. They have never wanted to keep half-bloods alive._

This message made Gohan think furiously. Was this why he was being followed, had Vegeta convinced all the others that he was dangerous just so that they would kill him? Was it pure pride, an ancient order of his race being obeyed? Panic started to surge through him, were his friends becoming enemies?

_Join me, I will make you strong enough to stop them. You should have been having visions of the strength I can give you._

These words caused Gohan to think. He had been given visions of him killing people, it meant that he wouldn't be hurt by those around him. Slowly faces started to decorate his view, his mother, his brother, Videl. A smile started to grow on his face, an expression that the disembodied voice took the complete wrong way.

_I see you are going to join me. Hold out your right hand._

Gohan responded in an ice cold voice, one dripping with venom. "My name is Gohan Son. My father gave his life protecting this planet and those who live upon it. I swore to take his place as the planets defender, and I will not forsake it. I don't need you to make me stronger and start killing people, and if you don't leave this planet alone, I will have to stop you."

_You will regret this. The Saiyans will destroy you, and if they end up failing then I will._

The words were slowly getting fainter as they were spoken. As the last words faded into silence, Gohan found himself returning to the fight.

…

As his consciousness returned, he realised that he had the upper hand. Despite the very predictable manoeuvres he was using, the two opponents were unable to even think about launching a counter attack. Now that his mind was back in the fight, he rushed in hard, twisting at the last second. The technique he used wouldn't be found in any book on fighting, and any teacher would label it as reckless and foolhardy. When you move as fast as Gohan could, it stops being such and becomes a very solid move. From an odd stance, Gohan kicked out with both feet, each tracing semi-circles towards the opponents head from opposite sides. Neither were blocked and the two fighters ended up in a pile against a wall.

Videl had just about recovered her sight by this point, and was staring at Gohan in both shock and admiration. She could hardly believe her ears when she heard him whisper, "Time to finish them off."

A ball of blue light started to form in the palm of Gohans left hand. Before he could throw it, the gym teacher landed between Gohan and his target. This time Tien wasn't covering his head, so Videl could see the third eye clearly. A split second later two more figures landed, forming the points of a triangle with Gohan in the middle. The first man was shorter than the others, and Gohan. He clearly possessed a lot of muscles which his outfit proudly displayed. His hair stood on end, reminding Videl of a flame. The second man made her glance twice. He was green, wore a cloak and had pointed ears.

Gohan didn't react to their arrival, but the slightly anxious voice of Tien caused a slight stir, "I see you were right. Gohan has changed, he would never have beaten up and try to kill untrained fighters."

Before Videl could say a word, a fight had erupted. A very calm Gohan was twisting smoothly, managing to block the attacks from all three almost simultaneously. He was slowly building up his power, looking for a chink in the formation that could allow him to escape from this predicament. The other three powered up quickly, not interested in a prolonged fight but looking to end it as soon as possible. Vegeta even shifted into his Super Saiyan form, causing more questions to flood into the mind of Videl. Despite this power boost, he was still unable to land a blow on Gohan who seemed unfazed by the power that he was facing. Gohan had yet to launch a single attack.

The noise of people approaching caused Videl to look away from the fight, and she saw two women walking purposefully towards the melee. The one on the left had had bright blue hair and was wearing a red dress. An odd gun didn't seem to fit in with her outfit, however that gun was handed over to her friend. This woman was the same height, but had blond hair. The look on her face was quite aggressive, and she handled the weapon as if guns were normally found in her grip. She braced the weapon with both hands and fired.

The bullet flew true and hit Gohan in the shoulder. At first, he didn't show any reaction, but after a couple of seconds he collapsed. As he collapsed, he was grabbed by the green man who flew away with him. The other two men walked over and each picked up one of the women before following the green man in his flight. Videl watched wide eyed as they vanished into the distance. She was very worried, she had just watched her classmate be abducted and she hadn't done anything to help. What made it worse was the knowledge that she couldn't have done anything useful anyway. Before she got too down on herself, she became aware of another presence beside her. She span to see Eighteen standing there looking sad. "He wouldn't have wanted me to help, he can handle it."

Videl nodded, her voice was quiet and gave away her sorrow, "I wish I could have helped."

Eighteen smiled at her, a smile that vanished almost as soon as it had formed. "First we must deal with these two. I can't believe they didn't even check to see what it was Gohan was fighting."

With these words, the android created a disc of energy and threw it like a boomerang, decapitating both of the fallen warriors.

…

_Still not overly happy with this chapter, but I've been writing it for … well I started a couple of days after the last chapter was posted. I hope it is ok, and not something that will make anyone reading it give up on reading this story … _

_And before I get asked, yes, I know that Gohan is unaffected by bullets._


	10. Chapter 10

_I am very sorry about how long this took me to write, I ended up hating where the story had got to. Part of me wanted to delete it and start from scratch, but I remembered how I felt when stories I had enjoyed had that happen to them. In the end, I walked away from the story for a couple of months, then came back to it as if I had been a reader and challenged to finish it. This will be the last update of the story, but it is also the longest (coming in at over nine thousand …). I just felt that if I tried to chapter it I would end up taking even longer to finish it._

_As this is the last (barring any changes), I want to take the time to thank everyone who has read it. Knowing that it has been read, and hopefully enjoyed, brings me great pleasure. Even more importantly, a massive thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Anyone who has offered suggestions or constructive criticisms, I have listened to them and considered carefully whether I need to implement the advice. If all you had time to write, or all you could think to write, was that you liked what I had written, your input helped me get to the point where this story was completed. When I have some 150 messages in my inbox relating to this story I could feel the support. So thank you everyone._

The two heads fell aside, but there was very little blood. Mostly, there were sparks. Eighteen walked over to the two corpses and looked carefully at them. "An interesting idea, cybernetic implants to augment the natural rhythm of the body. They possess chi, but not at a level that represents how strong they really are. This means that they can be sensed, and create deception. But who would need such a strategy and why?"

Videl looked at the lady in shock, she had just watched her execute two people and was now talking at a level that was much above her. She turned to Eighteen, about to launch a barrage of questions when the android cut her off, "This isn't a matter you or I can solve. We'll need more help, and the Briefs are out of the question. That means we need Gohan, and our only chance to find him will be when he escapes. Come."

With the instruction, Videl found herself lifted effortlessly as Eighteen took to the sky and flew off.

…

They stood watching a monitor. The prisoner was starting to awaken, but the chemical would keep his strength suppressed for a good while yet. The scientists were studying his mind using every tool they had at their disposal, but the three warriors wanted to make sure that the captive didn't do anything stupid. He sat, and then suddenly flickered to the wall, leaving an image behind him. After a couple of seconds, the image faded, whilst the person ran their hands along the wall searching for any help. Finding none, he repeated this, moving around the room. Finally he flickered once more, appearing back on the bed in a meditation pose. A second later the image by the wall faded, leaving just the figure on the bed. The watchers were able to keep track of which of the images was real by focussing on the targets power level.

_That was too easy._

Two minutes later, the figure seated on the bed faded, like an after-image usually does.

…

Chi Chi was going about her daily routine, slightly worried about why Gohan hadn't arrived home by that point. A knock on the door made her cease cooking as she wandered over and let her visitors in. She frowned, she wasn't sure she approved of the android who had initially tried to kill her husband, but she knew that Eighteen felt she owed Gohan a lot. The other person was not someone she had ever met before, and she tried to piece together who she could be.

Videl was shocked. The android had flown, carrying her, into the wilderness and straight up to a house. The door of which was opened by the legend that was Chi Chi, the only woman to make the World tournament proper. Before she could gather her thoughts, her 'transport' asked, "Has Gohan got here yet?"

Chi Chi narrowed her eyes, knowing that something would have to be wrong for this to be the case. Even as she was shaking her head, a fourth being popped into existence. Gohan staggered, his strength hadn't returned fully and he had drained a lot in his little escape plan. Before he could hit the floor, he was caught by a child. The group made their way inside and gathered on the settee in the front room, arranging Gohan in such a way that he could relax.

Aware that everyone was looking at him, Gohan started to explain. "A couple of people jumped us, and tried to kill us. They possessed life force, but it never fluxed. Any fighter subconsciously taps into this energy while they fight, as such it never stays perfectly constant. The changes are minuet, but they occur. As the attackers didn't show this change in power, I felt they had to be machines. Sadly, I guess my watchers saw me fighting and about to destroy them so they attacked me. I guess they used some kind of drug to knock me out, then I awoke in Capsule Corp. I'm just glad I worked out how to perform Instant Transmission.

The words obviously made sense to the others, even the little boy, but to Videl they seemed to be nonsense. _What does he mean, life force? My attackers used tricks like in the cell games but they clearly didn't know much about him. How on Earth did he appear? It was as if he just … how can you even describe it?_

Eighteen had by that point started filling in some of the details. "They were enhanced, I would estimate 90 per cent machine. The methods are unique though, I wonder who possesses this skill level to create these fighters." Her gaze shifted so it was squarely on Gohan, "You need to learn to detect electromagnetic fields. If you can, you will always be able to detect machines pretending to be people."

Videl opened her mouth to speak when Gohan stood suddenly. "The trick has ended, they know I'm free. They will come here first, I need to go."

Chi Chi looked sadly at her son, asking "Where are you going to go then?"

Gohan smiled, "There are some nice mountain ranges I visited when I started to train, I'll stay there for a while. I need to borrow nimbus though squirt, I don't think I can fly just yet."

Goten didn't seem too worried, "So it is hide and seek then big brother? I hope you win."

Gohan moved out the house and called for the yellow cloud. It turned up immediately, and soon was soaring off bearing two passengers. Inside the house, Chi Chi steeled herself for an interrogation by three of her friends.

…

The sun slowly rose, light filtering into the cave where two teenagers lay fast asleep. Neither stirred, until an alarm sounded on the only mobile phone present. Videl sat up, unsure as to where she was. It took her a couple of minutes to get her bearings at which point she began to panic. Here she was, at the crack of dawn miles away from her house. _My dad is going to kill me. Worse yet, he is going to kill Gohan. Wait, worse? Do I really care that much about him that I would rather I died than he did?_

She decided that her only way to get back and then get to school on time would be through her companion, so she turned and poked his arm gently. Gohan snapped up, fists clenched as if he was going to have to fight then and there. When no threat made itself apparent, he relaxed slightly, asking, "Is there something up Videl?"

"Yes, I need to get home right away. We can't let my dad know about me being out all night."

"I think he will understand, tell him about all your attacks, and I will talk to him while you are at school."

"If you see him, he will kill you for being around me. I can handle it, I'll get into some trouble but then everything will go back to normal."

"You don't need to get into trouble, I will sort it out."

This last statement struck deeply, making Videl think. _He is willing to face down my dad for me, to keep me from getting into trouble? Maybe he does care for me, and we can be a couple. But is that what I want?_

During these thoughts, Gohan summoned Nimbus to take the pair of them back into Satan City. Seated on the yellow cloud, Videl got to admire the countryside as they flew over at insane speeds. On her first journey she had been torn between worrying that Gohan would collapse, and that she would suddenly fall through the cloud. After a short while, they found the city and descended down towards the mansion in the centre.

As Videl walked through the front door, her father rushed up to her and swept her into a hug, "Videl, I was so worried about you. Where were you? Why didn't you let me know you were safe? Why didn't you come home last night?"

His eyes landed on the lad standing behind her, and his temper rose. He charged at the youth, shouting in anger. Gohan didn't flinch, but spoke calmly. "Some people attacked the two of us last night, so I took her somewhere safe for the night. This was the …fifth attempt on her life."

The words sapped some of the anger from Hercule, but he still demanded, "I want you to fight me. If you win then I will allow you to date my daughter, if not then you will never go near her again."

The stakes made Videl gasp. _I wanted this match. I wanted Gohan to fight my dad, to give him the best match he has had in years. Someone who would make him stop sitting on his laurels and keep trying to improve. Do I really want to date him, and why do I feel that never seeing Gohan again is the worst punishment my dad could impose on me?_

With barely any hesitation, Gohan responded, "I accept, but with one request. I would like the fight to be a private affair, just the two of us. Later today would be good."

Hercule felt slightly shocked, no one had ever taken up his challenge. Still, he didn't see anything too wrong with the situation, although there was a slight voice at the back of his mind telling him he had seen this lad before.

Videls face betrayed her disappointment, she was hoping that she would get to watch the match. Her head said that it was a foregone conclusion, but her heart wasn't giving up on Gohan. Despite this, she hurried to prepare for school that day.

…

Videl was walking home, accompanied by Sharpner and Erasa. Her two friends were chatting, with Sharpner pausing to flirt with Videl every so often. It was slightly grating on Videl, she wasn't interested in her long time friend. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end, a slight tingling that told her she was on edge. There was someone in the shadows following the group. Her eyes flicked side to side, there were meant to be two police officers escorting her. She tried to spot them, but they seemed missing. Wait, there was one, lying down in the alleyway. As she realised what she had just seen, panic flared through her limbs. Out of the shadow charged a person, identical to the ones who had attacked her the previous day. She turned, kicking out with her left foot. Without hesitation, her attacker blocked. He twisted his hand, grabbing her ankle. His face remained blank, but he easily threw her into a wall. Sharpner stepped across, putting himself between the attacker and Erasa but never trying to help Videl. She didn't blame him, she could clearly see he was shaking. Even she was scared of this fight, she didn't think she had a chance.

…

Hercule was facing off against Gohan in the ring, his face glaring at the youth who he felt had violated his daughter. He vowed that he would make the kid pay, and then insist he kept his word and never approached his daughter again. It would be for the best. His temper wasn't helped by the fact that Gohan never looked at him, his eyes were remaining lightly closed. "Begin," snapped Hercule.

Hercule charged forward, fist pulled back ready to launch a punch. His attack was stopped when Gohan said "Videl is being attacked again, I need to help her."

Hercule started laughing, "You are just going to chicken out of our fight then? I was going to enjoy …"

His speech was cut short as Gohan shifted into his Super Saiyan form and shot out of the window. _That is where I saw him before. He would have slaughtered me._

…

The android was standing above Videl, a disc of energy forming above his outstretched hand. Even though her life was on the line, her mind was wandering. _Why does that look like what that woman could do? Is it an android trick? Why couldn't she be here? Or even Gohan. If he was here he would save me. Maybe then I could tell him how I feel about him. Wish I knew how I feel about him, maybe it is love but do I want to tell him that and then discover it isn't? _She was barely watching as the disc flew towards her head and then stopped against one finger.

Standing above her was a figure bathed in a golden light. His hair was gold, and standing on end. The most noticeable feature about him though was his eyes. They were a perfect blue, brighter that the sky above. They even seemed to flicker, as if there was lightning hidden just beneath them.

The disc kept pushing hard, but it couldn't cut through the finger, and it was slowly being torn apart. As it finally vanished, her saviour clenched his fists and walked towards the android. "This is how you use that technique, DISTRUCTO DISC."

Two bright gold circular blades formed above the fists but remained in place. With the additional weapons attached, it took one punch to destroy his opponent. That job done he grabbed Videl and shot into the air, arcing back towards her house. Before she knew what was happening, they were in her house, standing in the ring where a fight had been about to take place. Her father seemed remarkably pale, as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Listen kid, I think I was a little hasty. If my daughter means so much to you then I don't think I should stand in your way. Just don't hurt her ok?"

Videl was shocked, was this her father surrendering? She span fast, wanting to see the person standing barely a pace behind her. Gohan. Her eyes started to scan across his features, hoping to find some clue as to why her father would act this way. Neither of the two seemed prepared to offer their opinions, leaving her mind in a mess. Finally it hit her, the gold fighter was at the Cell Games. _This means that Gohan was at the Cell Games? Maybe he can tell me more about the final match. _She smiled sweetly up at him, asking, "Do you know what happened to Cell?"

Her father spoke, his voice trembling as he revealed the depths of his deception. "I didn't win, this kid did. He destroyed Cell."

Videl felt her temper rising, but she kept it back. After a couple of deep breaths, she saw an opportunity. "Dad, will you let me train with Gohan for the next couple of weeks? I don't want to have to rely on him every time someone attacks me."

"She will be perfectly safe sir, I promise." Gohan added, his voice very sincere.

"Fine, as long as you keep your word." Hercule didn't seem overly impressed, but felt that he had no chance of refusing the request.

…

After a short flight back into the wilds, the two teens faced each other. Videl was thinking quickly, unsure about her insistence of a spar between her and Gohan. She had settled into her favoured stance, whilst Gohan had fallen into another brand new stance. Well, not quite brand new. It was the famous Satan stance, a stance that seemed very odd when performed by the young male. Gohan waited as Videl surged forwards, her foot scything in towards his head. Gohan started to dodge, before realising that in this stance he wouldn't easily keep his balance throughout the manoeuvre. With this knowledge, he shifted plans and raised his hand to block. The limbs met and the two fighters suffered contrasting reactions. Gohan was completely unharmed, the impact barely being registered. Videl however felt like she had kicked a wall, her foot was in agony. Her normal reaction would have been to switch her stance, moving her injured foot to be her pivot foot. The problem with that was she felt unsure that it would hold her weight, meaning that all kicks were out. Her mind was striving through the pain in her hunt for a strategy that would allow her a way to gain the upper hand. Her heart sank as she realised that she stood no chance, and decided to go down fighting. Pushing forwards off her good foot, she launched a barrage of punches at her opponent. Each punch was tapped away gently as Gohan moved his hands quickly in front of him, never making direct contact but instead going for the sides of her arm so as to reduce the damage he did to her. Finally she leapt up, attempting a single footed drop kick. The blow was simply side-stepped, and then he reached forward and caught her before she fell to the ground. Videl started to blush as she became aware of the way Gohan was holding her. It was almost a bridal carry, and what made it more interesting was that she felt incredibly safe in his arms.

"Are you ok Videl? Did I hurt you?" Gohans voice was heavy with compassion, his worry clearly evident both on his face and in his voice.

Videl was glad that he couldn't see her face, she didn't want him to realise her feelings. "I'm ok, Gohan. Could you put me down?" Videl had to struggle against herself to not add the word please at the end of her request.

Gohan complied, placing her gently on the floor. As she re-arranged herself into a seated position, he dropped to the floor opposite her. When they were both comfortable, Videl gazed at Gohan. _He is wonderful. All he seems to think about is everyone else. He is clearly very smart, and has shown numerous times that he is both strong and a very skilled fighter. Any girl would be falling over herself to date him, if they knew about him. I guess I am lucky, none of our classmates know anything about him. _That last thought made her wonder about what she knew of the lad. _He lives far away, he is the child of ChiChi and Goku. He knows how to fly, and use all of those 'tricks' that the fighters who fought at the Cell games used. He fought, and killed Cell. He is blind, although he wasn't born that way. There is more, and I want to know it all. I want Gohan to trust me, because that means that we could become … _She started to smile as prepared to question the demi-saiyan.

"Gohan, I have a few questions for you. Would you answer them for me?" A simple nod was the response, prompting her to continue, "First, how do you fly?"

Gohan sighed, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "It is simple really, a basic technique of ki manipulation. By placing your energy beneath you, you can simulate propulsion. This would enable the person to move in any direction they wanted."

Videl stared, open mouthed. Finally she said, "I don't understand any of that, or what energy is. Can you explain, in simple terms?"

Gohan laughed, "I'm not sure that any of the others would understand that, maybe my teacher would but after that, I think they would be as confused as you. Energy is chi, your life force. Through meditation you can learn to tap into it, to fuel attacks or to help you move, both through flight or simply enhancing your speed. To fly, you take your energy and put it underneath you. I will teach you if you want, I have already promised to teach Goten."

Videl was still slightly lost, although she understood the idea. _If I learn to use my energy, I could use what he said to work on flying myself. I'll get to that in a bit. _"How did you kill Cell?"

Gohan turned his head down, as if he was staring at the floor. "I used an energy based attack, destroying every last atom of him." Gohans voice betrayed his sorrow as he said these words.

Videl frowned, surely beating a monster was something to be proud of but here was the true saviour of Earth appearing to be sad about it. She felt unsure if she should press for more details, and finally settled with a simple statement, "Gohan, you can trust me. Anything you tell me I will keep secret, and it won't change anything."

Gohan laughed softly, "Better get comfortable Videl. You know so much that it is probably best if I told you everything. I warn you though, my life hasn't been the most enjoyable. Feel free to ask any questions that arise."

Videl leant back, enjoying the sun as it warmed her. She half closed her eyes as she let her mind try to picture the events that Gohan spoke of.

"My tale should begin with my father. We don't know exactly what happened, but he arrived on this planet as a child. He was sent here to wipe out the population of the planet, but for some reason the mission was removed from his memory. That means that I am only half human, the other half being a race called Saiyan."

Videl had gasped at this information, interjecting a question, "So what distinguishes Saiyans?"

"They enjoy fighting, and training. They are naturally stronger and faster than humans, and they develop faster. Fighting to the brink of death pushes them on further, they truly live by the motto 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger'. A pure breed Saiyan is born with a tail, to the best of my knowledge only one half Saiyan has been born with a tail, me. This tail is a weak spot, although a number of Saiyans trained to overcome the weakness. A Saiyan has a massive hunger, they eat a lot more than any human. There a few transformations a Saiyan can go through, but I will talk about those later. Finally, the race has been all but annihilated, there is only one full blood and three half blood left."

Videl nodded, although her mind was at a loss. _He is an alien. He is so different to anyone else … and it doesn't matter to me? Gohan is Gohan, alien or not. He is just the man who I … care for? Do I really want to date him?_

Gohan took a deep breath before continuing. "My mother wanted me to be a scholar, she still does. This meant that a lot of my early life was focussed on studying. This changed when I was four, my uncle kidnapped me to try and force my father to help him wipe out the population of Earth. My father and Piccolo worked together to kill him, although it cost my dad his life."

Once again, Videl felt the need to ask for more information. "Who is Piccolo?"

"He was one of those who fought me yesterday. He is seven foot tall, and green."

"Oh, so that is his name." Videl paused for a second, then asked the second question, "So this was when you lost your father."

Gohan nodded, but added, "For the first time."

Videl shot up, suddenly seated upright. Her voice quivered as she asked, "First time? How could you lose him more than once."

Gohan sighed, and asked a question in return. "Why does no one pay attention to legends? The tales of the Dragonballs explain that anyone who collects all seven can get a single wish. They can bring the dead back to life if the death was not from natural causes."

Videl stared at the lad opposite him, he was stating that not only could he perform incredible moves but that it was possible to bring the dead back just by wishing. Almost as if he could see the disbelief on her face, he queried, "How did the victims of cell return to life?"

"I guess that makes sense."

…

Over the next few hours, Gohan recounted his life story. He told her of his trip to Namek, and all the way up to the fight with Cell. When he told her of his arrogance in that fight, she was shocked. His actions that day had clearly had a major influence on his life. If he had acted differently, maybe his father would be alive. _Maybe he wouldn't have came to my school, and then I would never have met him._

Gohan had stood and asked softly, "Do you want to wait here while I get us some food, or would you prefer to help?"

Videl lowered herself onto her back, stretching herself out as if sunbathing. She waved her hand, signalling for Gohan to go on his own. As he walked off with his trademark grace, her mind shot to another point. _He is blind. How does he walk so well, and react to the movements of others around him? _Sighing, she let her mind drift to other thoughts, such as whether the young warrior who had brought her here had feelings for her. She wished that she could find out in a way that wouldn't let on too much of how she felt.

After a few minutes, Gohan returned. He was carrying two massive fish, water dripping slightly from his hair. Videl started to pull herself up, wincing from the pain in her foot. Gohan spoke softly, "You are hurt, I'm so sorry Videl. Just sit there, I can handle to food and you shouldn't move if you are injured."

Videl felt her pride flare up, she never liked being treated as if she was weak. Before she snapped, a thought flashed across her mind. _He cares enough about me to take care of me. _A soft smile formed on her face as she looked at the fire Gohan was making. She wondered if she could take advantage of this slightly protective attitude that Gohan was exhibiting. Speaking softly, almost nervously, she asked, "Gohan, I'm getting cold over here. Could you help me over to the fire?"

Even as she asked, her instincts were berating her. This was the sort of thing that she had promised herself that she would never do, yet here she was acting like a helpless girl. Before she realised that Gohan had accepted, she was lifted gently and carried over to the fire. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the faint musky smell. As he started to lower her to the ground, she slipped her arms around him and hugged him quickly. As he blushed, she grinned. Her mind was racing as she wondered whether he could care for her.

Days started to slip by, falling into a simple routine. In the morning, Gohan sorted out breakfast before delivering her to school. While Videl studied, Gohan trained himself by suppressing his Ki in his second super saiyan form. When school finished, Gohan collected Videl from the roof and returned her to the wilderness where he taught her the basics of energy techniques and helped her develop more fluidity in her hand to hand skills. Videl felt her skills were improving dramatically. She had also kept quiet about all of Gohans secrets, knowing that he didn't want anyone else to know about him.

…

It had been a week and a half of the same routine, however as the school day had drawn to an end, Erasa had begged her best friend to spend some time with her. As much as she wanted to get back to Gohan, she felt loyalty to the blonde and agreed to the shopping trip. After a quick trip to the roof to inform her guardian, Videl joined Erasa as they walked to the mall.

Shopping was never Videls favourite pastime, but she was finding it bearable because she was looking for a present for her sensei. After watching Erasa try on a number of different outfits, each more revealing than the last, Videl finally got her way and they visited a martial arts shop. In there she examined each of the different training aids. Each one that she looked over was scorned, she didn't see how they would benefit Gohan in his regular training regime. Finally her eyes landed on an unusual item, an exquisite painting of the 'WMAT Couple'. Her eyes flicked to the price, it was costly but not an amount that she was uncomfortable spending on this gift. Smiling, she paid for it and arranged for it to be posted to her house.

Erasa looked at her friend, trying to work out why she had brought a picture when she had said she was looking for tools to help her train. Shaking her head, she decided that she would never understand her best friend. With all the clothes shops having been visited, the two girls paid a visit to a coffee shop where Videl got inundated with information about people who had gotten together at parties over the last few days.

After their drinks they headed to the Satan mansion, where the two friends parted ways. Once she was inside the walls, Videl turned to the figure leaning against the wall. They were positioned perfectly, in such a way that you would have to be inside the walls to see him. She smiled, stepping over to Gohan for him to carry her back to their hideaway.

A scream echoed through the area, causing both teens to snap to attention. They span around and sped out of the gates in time for Videl to see a blonde haired girl being carried into the sky by a figure. It was almost instantaneous for Videl to recognise her best friend. Her soft gasp turned into a slightly louder sound as she was scooped up by Gohan as he shot after Erasa like a rocket.

…

When they landed, Erasa was lying on the floor unconscious. Four identical figures walked towards Gohan, each wearing plain gi's and possessing very cold faces. Gohan only responded by dropping into a simple stance, opting to use his mothers stance against these opponents. The first opponent shot towards him, left fist arcing towards his head. Gohan simply ducked under the blow, stabbing with outstretched fingers into the upper arm of this attacker. For a normal person, that would mean a dead arm. For someone like Gohan, this was much more destructive. It actually removed the entire arm.

Before Gohan could press the advantage on that opponent, the other three moved in. All three attacked simultaneously, each throwing unusual combinations at the demi-saiyan. The speed of the attacks was faster than Videl could see, but that didn't faze Gohan who was dodging the attacks with ease. After a couple of seconds, Gohan snapped his right foot out, crashing it hard into the head of the first opponent. As the head caved in, Gohan reversed his rotation and slammed his heel into a second victim. That opponent also found his head shattered, falling lifeless to the floor. Videl stared at the incapacitated people, a grim smile decorating her face as she saw the sparks slipping from the damage inflicted. She turned back to Gohan where she saw a small beam of energy shoot from his hand and tear threw the two remaining opponents. He relaxed, then span around and seemed to tense up again. She looked up and saw three figures drop down each with a furious expression. The shortest of the three, with his flame style hair, spoke in a cold voice, "Take him down quickly."

All three took up ultra-aggressive stances, positioning themselves to surround Gohan. In contrast, Gohan fell into a conservative stance, his feet well spread to allow himself to shift his balance in an instance. Tien threw the first blow, his foot thrust out at the chest. Gohan blocked it easily, then ducked as a chop swung overhead. Piccolo retracted his arm, stepping forwards to close the distance. Vegeta took advantage of the distraction, allowing his power to surge as he shifted from his base state all the way up to his maximum, the second level of Super Saiyan. When he had finished powering up, he dived into the melee. Gohan was getting hard pressed, he hadn't transformed yet and the three opponents were making sure that he didn't have a chance to gather his strength.

Duck, left, right, Gohan was moving purely on instinct as his mind started to hunt for a route to defeat his friends without hurting them badly. Steadily he worked his hands up, keeping it slow enough that the opponents wouldn't spot his strategy before it came to pass.

"Solar Flare." A sudden shout from the beleaguered youth caused a bright flash of light.

Grunting, all three of his opponents tried to keep the pressure up by following his ki. Sadly for them, they hadn't learnt all of Gohan's tricks, as they found that they were detecting energy all around them.

Three paces away, Gohan released all the restraints he had placed upon himself, transforming once to the mythical Super Saiyan. With his strength now exceeding that of his opponents, he spoke calmly, "You know Tien, I worked on your technique to find a method for it to work on opponents who have lost their sight."

Vegeta shot towards the noise, but his two companions remained stationary as doubts started to fill their minds. Attacking blind, his punch missed the target. Gohan however landed two solid blows, knocking the full blooded Saiyan to the floor a short way away. In the time he had gained, he continued to speak, "I have beaten these androids, I would much prefer to rest than to spar with you."

The response from two of the adults was to power down, but the third screamed in anger as he allowed all of his power to surge through his body. Charging, Vegeta launched a barrage of blows targeting the torso of his opponent. Gohans hands snapped into position, deflecting each blow before it connected. Finding his strategy failing, the Saiyan Prince flipped back and focussed his chi into a ball in the palm of his right hand. "Big Bang Attack".

Videl gasped as the energy beam smashed into Gohan from point blank range. The constant flow of energy caused smoke to start to form around the demi-saiyan. Vegeta held the attack for a good two minutes before letting it die down, feeling tired but confident he had defeated his opponent. As the landscape cleared, they became aware that Gohan wasn't standing in that spot. In fact, there was no sign of Gohan anywhere. Videl felt her heart sink as her fears started to cloud her mind. The one thing this did do was help her realise just how she felt about her classmate. _Ok, so I am in love with him. Why did he have to die before I realised it?_

"Oh, sorry Vegeta. The androids kidnapped one of my friends so I took her home. I hope you don't mind that I had to take a few seconds out of the fight, and that my disappearance didn't cause you too much trouble."

The words caught everyones attention, Gohan was now standing in the exact spot where Vegetas attack had been attacking. He showed no sign of damage or tiredness, his body straight and his clothes spotless. In contrast, Vegeta was taking deep breaths revealing just how much his ploy had cost him. Gohan approached him steadily, striding deliberately towards Vegeta who dropped into a full defensive stance. Before Vegeta had a chance to react, Gohan phased behind him and dropped him with a single well placed chop. With the saiyan prince defeated, Gohan relaxed and powered down.

Piccolo and Tien had examined the fallen bodies, and realised that they were the androids that Gohan had proclaimed them to be. The fact that they could sense ki from them was causing both adults to question the opponents that they had witnessed Gohan fighting previously. They both picked up two bodies, leaving Gohan to carry Videl and Vegeta. Finally Piccolo spoke, "We're sorry Gohan, we should have talked to you. I think we need to get an expert to examine these bodies carefully."

Gohan was in the process of slinging Vegeta over his shoulder as he replied, "I understand why you didn't, you didn't want me to train hard and become much stronger when I was going to turn evil and kill everyone. Eighteen thinks they are ninety percent machine, a series of bio-enhancements using techniques different to the ones employed by Gero. We are unsure whether the fact that ki can still be sensed is deliberate or betrays a lack of understanding in energy manipulation. They were targeting Videl, so whoever created them either thinks that Videl and Hercule are the strongest or has a reason to grudge her."

Tien glanced over at Gohan, who was holding Videl gently in a one arm hug and Vegeta slung unceremoniously over his other shoulder. The young Saiyan looked very calm, almost as if he had cut out every emotion. Even his usually perceptive gaze couldn't see any cracks, any signs of humanity in his face. His mind started to ask him if he had made the right decision, was this still the old Gohan?

…

The small group arrived at the largest company currently in existence. A small boy rushed out, his lavender hair flying from his speed. When he saw his father unconscious, his eyes widened. His power started to surge, and instinctively he fell into a fighting stance. When he attempted to attack, he found his body wasn't responding. When he was sure Trunks had realised that he couldn't attack, Gohan spoke, "Where is the regeneration chamber? Your father needs to get some rest, I think he used up too much strength in our little match today."

Trunks stood there, silently glaring at the person he knew had beaten dad. Taking his refusal as an offer, Gohan continued, "That is very kind of you, we do need to talk to your mother so we will leave your father here for you to take to recover."

With these words the elder demi-Saiyan carefully placed the only pure blood Saiyan still alive onto the floor. With Videl walking hanging on his arm, Gohan led the way into the complex. The strange company quickly found Bulma seated in an empty lab, studying a sheet of paper. The noise of the four androids being dropped onto workbenches caught the CEOs attention, causing her to spin around. The sight that met her made her step back in shock, the young lad who she had believed was a serious danger was standing in with two seasoned warriors who were meant to be keeping him subdued. What made it worse was that four clearly dead bodies had been brought in. Her heart rate was starting to raise before Tien helped her to settle with the words, "We have found some androids, would you be able to help us work out who made them?"

Bulma breathed out, relaxing quickly. "I'll have a look, hopefully they have left some marks of who they are on the implants. Is everything else … safe."

As she spoke the last word, her eyes flicked to Gohan subtly. With his lack of sight, Gohan missed the reference, but Videl didn't. Her eyes narrowed into a fierce glare at the blue haired genius. Piccolo nodded slightly as he spoke, "Aside from dealing with them and stopping us from knocking him out, he has done nothing aggressive."

…

The next few days slipped past quickly, Bulma carefully examining the components in each of the robots. The first surprising discovery was that they were never human, a mixture of organic parts grown specially or mechanical devices. For most of this work, Eighteen was assisting her. She had almost taken the arrival of these machines as an insult and had set her mind to ending the existence of any of them. School was fairly dull for Gohan, the most interesting part of it being explaining his absence to both the teachers and his classmates. A lot of his peers were also surprised at how close he and Videl had become.

The first gym lesson after his return to school was on a Friday. However, the head teacher had decided to witness what the class had learnt. This meant that the day was going to be spent sparring, with a number of matches performed as full demonstrations. After the first two showed some of Hercules students in action, the third one showed Gohan facing off against Videl. Tien had saved this match for last in the knowledge that it would be the best, and also be a complete shock for the principle.

Videl settled into her stance, calming her emotions as her mind raced through all of the lessons she had received from Gohan. Every few seconds, her mind threw up images of Gohan fighting the machines, shattering limbs with a simple jab with his fingers. Opposite her, Gohan looked undecided. His feet were shifting and his body was not as balanced as it usually would be. Finally Videl felt the need to speak, asking in a soft whisper, "What is wrong?"

She got a faint smile with the answer, "Sorry, I was trying to decide on a stance. I am ready now."

She swept her eyes over Gohan, recognising the stance almost instantly. It was the self same stance that Tien had used, and a faint intake of breath revealed that the teacher had realised and was surprised at the revelation. Her mind suddenly came to an obvious conclusion, Gohan wanted to put on a show. With a smirk on her face, Videl rushed forwards. Her first attack was a punch thrown at the chest, but even as it was blocked she had started a right heel kick. This Gohan automatically slipped beneath, turning his head as if watching it. The smile on his face told her that he was playing the same game, and the next move cemented it in her mind. Gohan moved on the offensive, kicking his left foot at her chest. Her balance slightly off from her kick, Videl pulled her hands up to block. As she expected, this attack was a feint, with Gohans second leg sweeping a lot lower. Videl had came a long way since her fight against Tien, and shifted her weight onto her hands that were on the left leg. Moving through her rotation, she ended up in a perfect handstand balanced on a still moving leg. Gohan twisted his body, changing his position to one that would allow him to shift from being balanced on his hands. As his legs started to move to an upright position, Videl pushed off and used a somersault into a handspring to leave the two fighters standing and facing one another.

Tien nodded slowly, concentrating to send a telepathic message to Gohan. To his shock, he found that he couldn't push the words into the young man's mind. Videl had drawn herself back into her stance, she knew that this was now going to be a bit harder. Gohan surprised her by launching into what would usually be a reckless assault, and it took all of her skill to keep her weight shifting in such a way that no blow was ever landed. Feeling that she was being pushed back too much, she started to search for an opening in what would normally be an impenetrable defence. The words of Eighteen suddenly echoed in her head, and she decided to try something unpredictable. Jumping up, she kicked out with both feet. As she knew would happen, Gohan leant back so her attack missed. However her momentum caused her to end up once again on her hands, feet pointing towards ceiling. From here she tried to reign out kicks at her good friends head. Instead of them connecting, Gohan crouched, before leaping into a full somersault over Videl. Acting instinctively, she knitted her legs around her opponents neck and pulled her weight forwards. All her training with Gohan told her that this would be unsuccessful, but it was really her only option from the position they were in. To her surprise, Gohan seemed to be pulled down. She started to grin, her competitive streak shining through. To her absolute horror, Gohan completed his fall with a handspring, and grabbed hold of her legs. She ended up sat on his shoulders, with very few escapes. After trying to slide off backwards, she was reduced to applying a chokehold by tightening her legs. Gohan walked slowly towards the edge, as if his breath and hence strength was starting to fade. He carefully fell forwards, catching himself before Videl was slammed painfully into the floor. Leaning forwards from his position on both knees, he caused Videls head to be resting on the floor, on the outside of the ring.

The entire class applauded, their faces showing the shock at the level of the fight performed. A call from Sharpner showed the thoughts of the assembled audience, "Wow Videl, you got really unlucky there. Still you were handling him no problem."

Tien was about to contradict the statement when someone did it for him. "Don't be silly Sharpy, Videl was doing well but at no point did Gohan look troubled. I don't think that Videl would normally use some of those moves."

Videl laughed, the analysis from her blonde friend surprising her. "Erasa is right, I knew I was losing. I just had to hope that my strategy let me win quickly."

Tien smiled, "You both fought very well, as I would expect from the two best students in the class. Videl, you adapted to your opponent, and shifted tactics very well. I was also glad to see that you kept to your stance, and also have developed a defence to that manoeuvre I demonstrated to you in the first lesson. Gohan, you kept your composure, and showed your intelligence and quick thinking in finding counters to moves you would never have seen before. If the two of you keep working like this, I would say that you can keep sparring against each other and finding new ways of developing."

The principle was very impressed, and walked over to talk to the two combatants who were standing side by side. His enquiry as to whether they felt that the teacher was helping them was met by a cold response, "You have had us training under a former world champion. I would be very worried if we didn't improve."

The principle took a step back from the force of answer from Videl, and finding the soft chuckle from the other youth in front of him just as unnerving, turned and left the room.

…

As school ended, Videl found herself being joined by her two blonde friends. They walked in silence for a few minutes, before Erasa suddenly asked, "So when did you and Gohan start dating?"

Sharpner spluttered, his mind hating the idea that his Videl had been stolen from him. Before he could find his voice to state his objections, Videl answered carefully, "We aren't together. I think he cares for me, but he has been having a few problems recently, and with the people trying to kill me we haven't really had a chance to discuss it."

This revelation silenced her companions, Erasa was sure that Videl would deny it even if it was true. Sharpner, for his part, was trying to come to terms with the idea that 'his' Videl was with someone else and happy about it. It left him questioning his place in life, although a little voice kept whispering that he flirted with her purely for his reputation, and that the blonde girl by his side was the one he really was interested in.

…

Days flew by, Gohan had settled back into the routine imposed by school and was enjoying it. During one lesson, he received a message from Eighteen to let him know she had located the people in charge of making the androids. From the way it was written, he knew she had already dealt with the issue. The holidays were approaching, with all the students looking forward to a week of freedom. The last lesson before the break was gym, and the students were happily watching the videos of previous matches. Gohan was clearly not paying attention, it was almost as if he was asleep.

_A faint flicker of energy made Gohan spin round. Even as his mind shouted for him not to, a ball of energy was sent soaring towards its target. Vegeta appeared exactly where Gohan had predicted he would, right in line with the attack. Caught unprepared, the Saiyan prince found his flesh torn apart by the powerful attack. This seemed to cause all hell to break loose, as every fighter on the planet launched themselves at him. His hands went into overdrive, pushing each attack aside whilst opening a new avenue for his counter attack. In one fluid motion, he phased out, a sick grin adorning his face as his friends attacks ended up hitting one another. In that one instant, everyone died, lying at the feet of the demi-Saiyan._

"_This is the power I offer. With it none will ever be able to stand in your way." The voice was back, it seemed to think that this was something that would motivate Gohan._

_The waves of disgust coming from Gohan pushed the image back. "You are mine. All you damnable half-breeds are mine. You will join me or you will die."_

"_I will protect this planet, and all who reside here." Gohans mental voice was perfectly calm, his emotions kept well in check._

"_I am unbeatable. I will destroy you."_

With a start, Gohan awoke. Cold sweat was running down his face, his heart filled with dread. The threat was serious, he could sense the strange power approaching the school like a missile. He tried to calm himself, clearing his mind automatically. Slowly his ki began to surge, building up gradually as he subtly started to loosen his joints.

A sharp ring dragged the class from the video, and most of the students raced out happily, the holidays had begun. Tien smiled at them as they left, then looked worriedly at Gohan. Gohan had a serious look on his face, and was walking slowly towards the fields. Videl followed him, with the three-eyed warrior only a few paces behind.

…

Gohan stood in the field, his body arranged into a stance that Videl had seen him use a few times. She knew he was prepared to fight someone, and so didn't approach. Her two companions seemed surprised at this, but waited by her curiously.

A large figure with jet black hair and red skin landed in front of Gohan, a look of absolute hatred decorating his face. "This is your last chance brat. Join me or die."

Gohan laughed, although there was no humour in his laugh. Both his fists clenched as he spoke his response, "Why would I ever join you, why do you haunt me?"

The tall figure didn't respond, he just stared coldly at Gohan. After a drawn out silence, Gohan shock his head, his voice showing regret as he said, "If you leave this planet and never return I will let you live."

It was at this point that Videl realised that there was quite a crowd behind her. Goten and Chichi were standing to one side, the young boy in front of his mother as if to guard her. Next to them was Bulma, who was flanked by her son and his father. The green figure called Piccolo was directly behind her, something in her mind was saying that this was so he could protect her. Then there were three more, Eighteen and two men. She had never met these men, although she recognised one of them as the great baseball player Yamcha, and the other she was sure she had seen one of the videos of previous tournaments. All of them were watching the scene closely, and all seemed ready to spring into action.

The figure finally answered Gohan, "I am the strongest half-breed. I was the first. I am unbeatable. I give people some of my strength, and when they die their soul is mine, and all the strength they possess becomes mine."

Gohan lowered his head, appearing worried. He spoke slowly, "But that doesn't explain why you would make them more aggressive, surely you would want them to get to their strongest … unless you get the strength of anyone they kill as well."

The figured smirked, "I am half-Kai. Of course I am as strong as that."

Gohan only responded by flaring his ki, he was now at the limit of his strength unless he was to transform. Seeing this act of aggression, his opponent shot forwards and took the initiative. Moving quicker than some of the spectators could see, the Kai swung a punch towards Gohans head. He brought his arm up to block the blow, but the impact sent him flying. Twisting his body as he fell, Gohan rotated through to end up back on his feet. Immediately he released his restraints, calling on the depths of his power. Gold light flared around him, his eyes shifting to their blue state. With this boost, he charged his opponent and started raining blows towards his chest. The Super Saiyan then proceeded to kick his opponent away and settled into a familiar pose. "Ka … me … ha … me … ha."

The Kai brought his hands forwards, a disc of green energy forming like a shield. Before the famous energy attack connected with this new manoeuvre, Gohan thrust both his arms out. The Blue beam split in two, each half arcing away from its target before curving wickedly back to connect with the side of the tall figure.

The only response this got was laughter, so Gohan reached further into his bag of tricks. With barely any effort, he ascended. This very act horrified Vegeta, who still expended a lot of energy changing states. The Kai gave a short yell, his power magnifying. This started the fight proper.

Punch met punch, neither landing a single blow to a critical part of their opponents' anatomy. Suddenly, Gohan vanished. Taking the opportunity, he drove his knee hard onto the spine of his target. As the Kai staggered away, Gohan brought his hands above his head and called on his own trademark technique, "Masenko … ha."

The golden ball found its mark, and caused an explosion. As the smoke cleared, the Kai was still standing, a faint smirk on his lips. "You did well, kid. Time to die."

Gohan found he couldn't move, somehow his opponent was freezing him in place. That was a serious issue as he was also summoning a beam of deep red energy. With an evil laugh, he sent the move towards the young demi-Saiyan.

The energy was hurting him, and he couldn't bring his hands up to block the attack. A faint voice at the back of his mind spoke, _One last chance. The move that helped beat Cell._ Gohan pulled all of his energy inwards and started the chant. "Ka … me … ha"

The bystanders seemed confused at what Gohan was trying. Even his opponent showed signs of shock, but his voice contained scorn. "I know you need your hands for that move. You are dead."

"Me … HAAAAAA."

The last syllable of the chant was more like a scream from pain. Gohan still couldn't move his hands, but his desperation before had helped him learn a trick, and it was this he was using. The pure energy surged out of his eyes, and the great strength he had at his disposal was taking control of the conflict. He forced the combined attack onto his foe, his ki sense telling him that it was disintegrating the figure.

Gohan fainted, he had used everything he had in that last move. In fact, he had barely kept enough back to keep him alive. The group of friends raced towards him, gathering around his body. They knew he was still alive, but only just. When they looked at his face though, there were screams of horror from five of the group. Where once he had eyes, now there was just a hole, with blood pouring out of it. It seemed that he had sacrificed his eyes for his victory. The green man looked up into the sky, and spoke words that sounded like a prayer. "Kami, come down here right now."

A smaller green man appeared almost instantaneously, and knelt down besides the fallen warrior. He placed his hand on Gohans head, and a faint light started to surround him. Over the next few seconds, the bleeding stopped and, as if by magic, his eyes were restored. Finally he stood up and looked at the masses waiting expectantly. "I understand now. Against Cell he used his eyes to add more energy to his attack, but the power damaged them. It might have been too bright. This time he sent too much energy through his eyes, and the energy destroyed them. He will be fine, he just needs rest. I suspect he will even be able to see again."

Videl felt her heart lurch at this, how would he react when he could see what she looked like. Before her thoughts could depress her too much, a faint voice whispered inside her head, _I love you Videl._


End file.
